Letters
by Lang Noi
Summary: Fire Emblem crossover with Deltora Quest. After a small correspondence sparks an international affair, it seems that a very special representative from Elibe will be venturing to Deltora... DISCONTINUED.
1. Post Script

Letters

A/N: This is what happens when I get bored in Block class… Anyways, it's a crossover between _Fire Emblem _(which had an awesome plot) and _Deltora Quest_. It about six months after Eliwood defeated Nergal. And yes, he married Ninian.

If that last bit actually made sense to anyone, congrats.

This is basically a series of letters used to tell the story of an altered version of the fall of Deltora. The ending's the same, though.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Dear Eliwood,

Thanks for the opportunity to take this trip with Fa. I haven't been to Deltora for a very long time (and I mean _long_). However, a lot seems to have changed.

King Alton, who I've never heard of before, does nothing to help the people starving right outside the castle walls. I'm certain that those are his people, and he's doing absolutely nothing to keep them from starving! Prandine, the chief advisor who looks like a hawk on a bad day, seems to be the one really in charge here. He's working without the king's notice towards some hidden agenda that I can't figure out. I can't recall what this situation reminds me of, but I'm sure you can.

Fa is having lots of fun playing with the prince, Endon, but I don't think either of them realizes just how slowly she'll mature. The prince's friend Jarred seems to be getting into the act as well.

Please send a reply post-haste by Fang's wings.

Sincerely,

Immersa

P.S.: I've enclosed a self-inking quill. I'm sure you could use one.

* * *

Dear Immersa,

I can tell you right now that the situation is grave. It probably won't matter one way or the other if you expose the truth. I get the impression that the people there must be living under immeasurable layers of lies. Check to see if something dangerous has happened to the nation's records – most evil conspirators prefer their puppets to live in ignorance.

I'm glad that you and Fa are happy enough with your accommodations. I hope that King Alton is treating you well.

You pick quite the names for messengers. 'Fang'? Until he bit me, I couldn't see your point. I do now. I daresay Ninian didn't want him around much after that.

Keep your eyes open for any new developments and watch out for the old 'Master's Ill' trick. You'd be surprised how foolish some people can be when it comes to lying.

Sincerely,

Lord Eliwood

P.S.: The new quill was a lifesaver. If I hadn't used it, I might have been late for a very important date. By the by, my son, Roy, was born yesterday.

* * *

Dear Eliwood,

Where'd you get that name? I understand that it means 'Lord' in the old tongue. Do you expect him to succeed you in every way, then? I hope that he never has to face the dangers that you did. Nergal was an impossible adversary. I'm just glad everyone got out of that alive.

The situation here is getting worse. King Alton's wife just died of a very strong fever. King Alton himself is sick with it now and I overhear the healers say he doesn't have much longer. But I don't think it's really a fever. I've heard of poisons with similar effects. I tried to tell the guards, but they ignored me. I'm afraid it will only be a matter of time before this place descends into chaos.

Fa is worried for Endon's sake. He's three years younger than you were when you set out to look for your father. On that note, I'm worried too.

God only knows what will happen with another clueless king on the throne.

In concern,

Immersa

P.S.: When did you get married to Ninian and why wasn't I invited?!

* * *

Dear Immersa,

Use that tactician mind of yours to figure out the best way to act. Don't do anything without thinking it through. And I mean _all_ the way, not the half-done way you did while we were all trying to stop Nergal from opening the Dragon Gate.

A lot of news I've heard from the coast is troubling. It seems as if the coasts of Deltora are getting even more inhospitable. When you decide what to do, do it quickly and thoroughly. The fall of Deltora's kings may bring ruin upon us all.

In haste,

Lord Eliwood

P.S.: We were married when you were at the Metallic Dragon Council meeting. We tried to get you to come, but all of our messages went unanswered.

* * *

Dear Eliwood,

King Alton is under my care now. The poison in him is strong, but he's not an old goat yet.

If you're wondering how I pulled that off, I bothered the guard at the door until he let me through. I'll have to thank Barda later for his willingness to bend the rules for his king's sake. As Alton gets better, fewer people question me. He started to speak again today.

He told myself, Fa, and Endon that Prandine had scratched him with a poisoned dagger. I imagine that I'll be paying the man a visit in the near future.

Lord Eliwood, rumors hold that the Shadow Lord wishes to conquer Deltora because its southern coast is perfect for launching warships. Tell Hector about this post-haste, along with Lady Lyndis of Sacae, and whoever else you can think of. We're going to need as much help as we can get.

Sincerely,

Immersa

P.S.: The Council doesn't allow contact with non-dragons when it's in session. Even if you're the king of the world, they're not going to bend over backwards to please you. Sorry.

* * *

Dear Immersa,

I apologize in advance for the briefness of this message, but scouts along the coast have reported a ship not of Elibe. It has gray sails marked with a red hand.

If this is the symbol of the Shadow Lord, the situation is becoming critical.

Be cautious,

Lord Eliwood

* * *

Dear Eliwood,

Prandine was executed today by my own hand, without ceremony. I don't know about your opinion, but someone who tries to kill me in my sleep deserves the favor returned. He put up a bit of a fight and made a scene, but my dagger through his chest shut him up. I've seen Ols before, but this one collapsed in a particularly vile fashion.

King Alton started correcting some of the wrong caused by his family's ignorance. He sent out servants with their arms laden with food for the people of Del, but I'm afraid it's already too late.

The Shadow Lord is stirring, and it will only be so long before Deltora needs serious help.

Fa and I will be heading back to Elibe soon, so don't worry. I'll take care of the fleet when I arrive, if there is one.

Wait just a little longer,

Immersa

* * *

To anyone with any sense,

Deltora is a hopeless case now. The Shadow Lord rules, and scours the land for the two foreigners who delayed his conquest. I doubt they will be found.

For now, the Council and Io will bide their time. I implore all other lands near Deltora to do the same unless attacked. The Belt of Deltora is not lost yet.

We still have a chance.


	2. So It Begins

Chapter Two: Sixteen Years Down the Road

A/N: This chapter is in diary format. The story will probably change format throughout.

* * *

Dear Journal,

Going through this land is sort of like walking through a desert. Just so you know, I hate the desert. Well, it's not _really_ deserted. There's water and food and everything, but the people are drones.

The reason I'm starting the journal is simple. Yet it slips my mind for a minute.

I'm from some place no one's ever heard of, which is just as well. But my parents aren't. They're from Elibe, somewhere. I guess that Mother's from the Western Isles, and that Father's from Ilia. Makes sense to me.

Anyway, I wanted to come to this desert/drone colony place for research purposes. Lord Roy, Queen Guinevere, and King Mildain, who have all recently turned thirty-six, has requested that I check out this place (which I forget the name of) to see if they're planning on blowing us up or something.

It's stupid, really. I'm pretty sure this drone-factory wouldn't think up gunpowder for another couple hundred years.

Walking along this one road, called the 'Wenn Del', I spotted some other travelers. I don't think I considered that they could be bandits. I just wanted someone to talk to who wouldn't balk at my hair. It's white with green streaks, by the way.

After I caught their attention, which I suppose wasn't much of an accomplishment, both of 'em pulled out swords. Well-made, these blades were. Especially the one the boy had.

Oh, I must have forgotten to describe them. The kid, who's about my age or younger, had black hair and these blue eyes that made me want to stab him. He was too trusting for his own good. But then, maybe I am, too. The older guy, who's got to be at least as old as the crazies who sent me to this drone-factory, had this bearish look to him, complete with brown hair and eyes, and this sword that practically screamed 'DIE, YE MORTAL FOOLS'. But it didn't actually talk, or else I would have already stolen it and mailed it to that moron, Blight.

Yes, it is perfectly possible for a normally cheerful person like me to hate someone that much.

In our sword fight, if we had actually had one, I think I would have totally stomped them. Instead, I sort of played the pathetic beggar and pleaded for my life.

The big guy kinda told me to get lost. And I kinda didn't listen.

Big advantage to being what I am – multiple disguises.

The next day, I was a bird (quite literally) and followed them.

You know, seeing someone being paralyzed by sub-humans and shuffled off to be a sacrifice to a pagan god is not nearly as disturbing as I thought it would be. Once the white freaks were long gone, I popped out of bird form and studied them.

Amazingly, they were still alive. The kid was even glaring at me!

The ensuing conversation was not friendly.

**Me**: "Hello. How's the weather down there?"

**Kid**: "Why are you not helping us?!"

**Me**: "You were kind of rude yesterday, you know. Plus, you were both being morons. What other type of person would come into this forest at all?"

**Kid**: "We had to!"

While I was thinking up a good retort for that, the big guy woke up.

**Big Guy**: "Lief, be silent."

**Kid (Lief)**: "But Barda-!"

**Me**: "I agree with him, you know. 'Sides, I couldn't help you if I wanted to. Paralysis isn't something I've ever bothered studying."

About then, some random girl (who looked a little like what I imagined an Amazon to) with a bird on her shoulder showed up. She kinda ignored everyone, picking up that Lief kid's cloak.

Okay, I'm all for taking stuff that no one owns, but there's some sort of honor code that says people shouldn't steal from other people. Well, for me there is.

I grabbed the cloak. The girl pulled back. What she shouted at me, my mother would have slapped her for. I didn't know girls _could_ curse like that.

**Me**: "Lay off! This isn't yours!"

**Girl**: "It will be soon enough!"

**Me**: "You witch! Get lost before that monster gets an early snack!"

**Everyone else**: "…What?"

**Me**: "You mean you can't smell it? It's sort of like rotting…everything."

Well, after a little convincing, like how the monster popped up out of nowhere, the girl and I grabbed the two handicaps and lugged 'em into a really big tree. And when no one was looking, I threw a rock into its eye.

That thing left real fast after that.

The Amazon introduced herself as Jasmine. Freaky girl, but I can't really complain. She's not the only one who talks to animals.

Yes, shut up. It's from my mother's side, if you must know.

We were sort of in a nest-like thing, way up in the treetops. I don't make a habit of climbing trees, though, so I was twitching every time the tree swayed in the wind. Solid ground was _way_ safer than this.

Anyway, everyone else is going to sleep. I should probably hit the hay, too.

Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal,

I can see why Roy wanted me to come here. Maybe _he_ didn't completely understand, but I'm pretty sure I've found a reason for staying, if only for a while.

You see, these guys are trying to save their kingdom from the Shadow Lord's tyranny. That's going to be _very_ difficult, especially when you think about the number of the Shadow Lord's _minions_ they can't get a handle on.

The Shadow Lord is pretty much a very nasty mystery. If I were more the type to philosophize (that means guess, wonder, or think, I think), I'd guess that the Shadow Lord was some sort of quasi-deity or demon lord with a superiority complex.

There's a sort of monster thing in the middle of this forest. Or rather, in the middle of the middle forest. I lost you, didn't I?

Well, a long time ago my mother told me about this guy called Gorl who was part of the Jalis tribe. He and his two younger brothers, who were probably too minor for her to mention them, had come into the forest to find these things called the Lilies of Life.

Apparently, the people here, in Deltora, only have one place where the Lilies of Life grow. As it so happens, that's right where the monster is.

Now you see, Gorl wanted to drink a whole cup of the nectar from the Lilies to gain immortality, though there are other ways to get it. Not that I'm telling here, though, since journals can be stolen. Anyway, Gorl killed his brothers over that plant nectar, and the nectar just dripped away into the mud while they were fighting.

Unfortunately for us, Gorl was still alive and menacing when we got there.

I'm smart, so I figured out the nature of this Gorl guy a long time before Lief and Barda got caught by his low-level binding spell. Turns out, Gorl wasn't in that gold-colored armor. In fact, nothing was in there, absolutely nothing.

Nothing alive, anyway.

I was in disguise, as a ferret, so Gorl didn't really pay attention to me when Lief and Barda were already in his grasp, and struggling.

The thing with ghost-possessed anything is that you need to destroy the vessel. I was pretty sure I would be able to throw off the binding spell, since it's in my family's history that no one has yet managed to force us to act against our will. I was relying heavily on genetics; I'd never actually tested out that ability.

I figured a life-or-death situation wasn't _really_ the best time to start experimenting.

I popped out of my animal disguise.

So, I stuck with the ability I knew I could count on, and that Gorl wouldn't be able to stop.

Just so you know, I learned then that the difficulty of the spell is directly proportionate to the weight of the target. I swear, I'm never using the gravity reversal spell again, or at least not on people who I know weigh more than 200 pounds.

At best, Gorl might've risen a foot or two into the air, but he did drop his spell on Lief and Barda. Instead, he went for me.

Now, I'll admit that Gorl was pretty good with magic. Unfortunately, he _was_ dealing with me then, and neither my family nor I even _feel_ stuff like that. It's just not strong enough to bother us.

Kinda cool, now that I think of it.

So, while he panicked that his binding thing wasn't working, I took out one of my hidden daggers threw it right over his head. At the same time, I heard a very thick branch above Gorl creak dangerously.

Then I used the increase gravity spell on my knife, just as the branch snapped. The combined weight of the two objects, for lack of a better term, squashed him like a bug.

What happened after that was all pretty plain – the Lilies of Life bloomed and Jasmine collected nearly a cup of nectar, Lief shook the topaz out of Gorl's sword (which explained why the heck they'd come here, though it didn't explain what the rock was for), and we saw the ghost of Jasmine's mother.

Yep, pretty normal.

Turns out, Lief and Barda are trying to restore the Belt of Deltora. The Belt was apparently the only thing that kept the Shadow Lord from invading Deltora all those years ago, up until sixteen years previous. When all seven of the gems were restored, they said, the Shadow Lord would be driven out of Deltora once and for all, but not destroyed.

I sighed at that. Nothing sucks more than evil that never dies.

After that, Lief and Barda asked if Jasmine or I would come with them on their journey. I agreed instantly, because I was bored, and Jasmine's mother had decided for her.

Another day, and we'll be setting off for the Lake of Tears. I can't wait.

I think I'll cut this entry off here – the others are starting to try and peek over my shoulder at my writing.

Oceanus

* * *

A/N: So, what'd ya think?

Thanks to Wii-Master and sandralenefatoren2 for reviewing this story. Hope you like the new guy, Oceanus. He's the only one so far who talks like a Gray Guard. :)

Happy Readings.

Lang


	3. Thunder and Water, Bad Mix

Chapter 3: Thunder and Water – Bad Mix

A/N: Riddles, plain and simple, suck. So, I decided that Oceanus would be a jerk and not listen to a word the guardian of the bridge says. :)

Oceanus: The son of Sinya and Immersa, he is a fairly open and bright person, but has his mother's quick tongue and his father's desire for some sense of privacy. Whether he has any of the potential of his prestigious parents has yet to be seen, though his early use of the _Gravity Reversal_ spell should be testament to that.

Keras: Oceanus's best friend, the son of Copernicus and Sahara. Having gotten the copper's gene for mischief, he rarely follows rules and is prone to spouting riddles and jokes at the top of his lungs. While reliable, Keras has been told (read: ordered) to stay out of this by Oceanus.

Alana: Oceanus's sister-figure, daughter of Radon and Illuminé, she is potentially the most powerful of the trio due to who her parents are. Alana is the only one of the three who pays any attention to customs. As a fellow young adventurer, she is still often away from home and out in the world.

Elibe: The continent that is the stage for _Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals_. Oceanus and the other two grew up there.

* * *

Dear Journal/Diary/Notebook/whatever-the-heck,

I don't like riddles. My best friend, a guy named Keras, tends to use them. I mean, I see them in whatever letters he sends to me (not many nowadays); in signs he messes with, and in _graffiti_ on palace walls.

Maybe that's why I reacted so badly to the guy we saw next.

As Jasmine explained some sorceress named Thaegan (rhymes with _pagan_), I sort of tuned her out. Really, I wasn't supposed to care if some egomaniacal witch was messing with the land – I was only here to make sure that Deltora wasn't a threat, which I realized I hadn't explained to them when Jasmine gave me a disdainful look for ignoring her.

See, on the way to the Lake of Tears (horrible name, I could do better), we run into this gorge as far across as I could see. Considering how good my eyesight is, that's saying something. It went even farther from end to end.

When the four of us got there, we just kinda stood there like the nimrods we were, since no one had ever seen a ravine so big. Plus, they couldn't see a bridge.

I could, but I didn't like what I saw. There was a bridge that stretched all the way across – how, even I don't know – and in front of it was this huge guy. And I mean _huge_. He was easily twice as tall as Barda and three times as wide, and carried a sword at least ten times larger than the ones I'd see in my dad's armory.

Almost made me wish that my dad was there.

Eventually, the others (Lief, Barda, and Jasmine) noticed the giant, and they walked towards him without so much as a thought to how easily they could be killed. After thinking of how stupid they were, and that I was really supposed to be surveying Deltora and couldn't do that while just standing still, I followed.

As we got closer, I noticed that the guy had yellow eyes. Now, the yellow eye factor isn't nearly as hard to find back in Elibe, but I was pretty sure that Deltorans were supposed to be a lot more plain-looking. Actually, the only people I'd known with yellow-gold eyes were Alana and her parents. All three of them are almost exactly alike, with hair to match their eyes. About the only differences between Alana and her mother are hair length and the fact that the latter has a tattoo-like mark in the middle of her forehead.

Really, that mark's a long story, so don't ask.

Lief made it to the bridge guy first.

Beyond the fact that the kid could be useful sometimes, he was a pain. Sure, he was the same age I was, but I'm not the stupidest person in the world, and while Lief isn't either, he's sure making a run for it.

The bridge guy explained the rules of the bridge pretty thoroughly – you get asked a riddle. If you get the answer right, you can cross the bridge. If you don't, he gets to kill you. Simple, straightforward, and deadly. As I thought it over, I shrugged. Even if I got the riddle wrong (I doubted that – Keras came up with new ones all the time), I could avoid the sword and just levitate myself across or find away around it. I wasn't pressed for time then.

Also, he mentioned that he was doomed to guard the bridge until truth and lies were one. While I didn't understand the point of it at first, I got the reason pretty soon after.

Jasmine's question was alright. It was actually one of Keras's older ones. How does one make eleven into nine without removing any sticks? Simple – rearrange the sticks until they spell the word _nine_, which she did without much apparent thought.

She looked like she didn't want to go across the bridge without us, but the guardian told her she had to. Jasmine actually looked like she pitied the guy for a minute, so I took a closer look at him.

Sure enough, he had a layer of magic all over him. I couldn't tell what he was supposed to look like originally, but at least I knew he was enchanted.

It was Barda's turn. I didn't really get what the riddle was about at first, but memorized Barda's answer, since he got it right. It went "What is it that the poor man has, the rich man needs, and the dead eat?" Barda told the man that the answer was _nothing_. Well, I guess it was right.

Barda was ordered across the bridge as well, leaving me and Lief to sit there and stew while the guardian of the bridge decided which one of us he wanted to kill next. Talk about having no life. It seemed that all the guy did was sit on this spot and make up riddles to use against travelers.

Well, I really was getting annoyed by now. I snapped that I wanted to go next, since I hated the way the man was staring at me. With my luck, he'd already figured out what _I_ was behind my enchantment.

"What eats to live, and yet when it drinks water, it dies?" he demanded rather than asked. Okay, this was going to be tough.

_Think, stupid_, I thought to myself. The eating and drinking part was obviously meant to refer to an animal, but there wasn't a creature in the animal kingdom that couldn't drink. Heck, water was really all some of them needed to live.

Well, at least the guy wasn't counting down or anything. _What if…what if the eating and drinking was supposed to throw me off track? What if it isn't an animal at all?_ With that, I ran down a list of things that fit the idea.

_Eating…consuming without need of water…water kills it…_

It took me a surprisingly short time to find the answer.

I spoke – the solution was fire, which burned unless put out by water.

If you wanted to be technical, I didn't really want to cross the bridge without Lief. He didn't seem as if he was sure he'd be able to answer any of the riddles.

It wasn't really worth getting into a fight with the guardian, but I didn't feel like budging an inch. Even when the guardian threatened me with his huge sword, I just asked him if I could stay until Lief made it. If necessary, I could answer a second riddle.

Seemingly not finding a problem with this, the guy let me stay. I crossed my arms and waited for Lief's riddle.

It made absolutely no sense. Thaegan's children? Toads? Favorite food? Fleas? What the heck was that supposed to mean? I was never the math whiz of my little group of friends, seeing as Alana was supposed to calculate everything, but I could tell that it had to do with a crazy number of exponents and multiplications.

Lief got it, I think, but then the guardian turned on him. As he explained it, Thaegan _gulped_ her favorite food, a raven. That way, there was one more live thing in the cave of the rhyme.

As the guy was about to pop Lief's head off like a cork, he shouted that it wasn't a fair question, since it wasn't exactly common knowledge what Thaegan's favorite food was. Then he went on to tell the guardian that it was his own fault that he'd been stuck here by Thaegan.

Well the guardian decided, what the heck, why not let the kid decide his own death?

It was simple enough – you get to say one thing, and one thing only. If it is true, the guardian gets to strangle you. If it's a lie, off with your head.

As Lief stood there and thought about it, I made a mental note to call him an idiot if he lived through this. Then Lief started fumbling with the fastening of the Belt. I wasn't really sure what he planned to do, but didn't bother stopping him. What was the point, after all?

Then Lief did something interesting. He told the guardian that his head would be cut off. Now, in case you can't understand the point of the statement, remember the bit about the strangling versus beheading criteria. It'll come to you in a minute, but I'm going to go on.

Instead of having his head sliced off, Lief got to see the magic on the guardian break as he (now a giant golden eagle) flew away.

Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, the bridge started losing boards at that point, and Lief, still undeniably quite stupid, started to make a run for it.

Nice idea, if you were a cheetah. I'm not, and neither is he, but he was the one who wanted to cross so badly. I just stood there, waiting for the realization to sink into his thick skull.

It took about three seconds for the boards right underneath him to start dropping.

Sighing, I turned into a giant eagle, just like the one he'd saved, and caught the idiot in midair.

I flew him over to the other edge of the chasm, where Jasmine and Barda were waiting to receive him. Completely in character, I dropped him right in from of them.

I turned back into the form they were used to seeing me in, and then flopped down on the ground, feet over the edge of the sheer cliff that marked the beginning of the chasm.

I didn't say much, just sort of stared at the other three as they stared back. Finally, as they got annoying, I said, "What, you thought I was some sort of normal person?"

Well, they don't trust me so much anymore, but what the heck, I'm used to it.

– Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal (I'm experimenting with names for you),

I have come upon an astounding conclusion.

I hate surprises.

I know that most people like them on birthdays or something, but wherever I go there's something deadly wrong, so I tend to forget about the pleasantries. They matter less and less as the years go on, after all.

Well, I hate surprises when the end result is just plain sickening.

Dij and Doj, those nice old people who took care of everyone when we got stuck in quicksand (something I probably shouldn't have done, for the sake of my pride), turned out to be hideous monsters bent on eating us.

I know that Lief knows – he used the power of the topaz earlier and confirmed what I already saw through the illusion. I mean, with two people viewing the same thing, it had to be right, right?

In any case, Jasmine and Barda were the last to realize anything amiss. I would have called them idiots, but I'd be insulting myself too. After all, I fell for it, same as them.

We, with the help of their own quicksand, a Ralad named Manus, and Jasmine's quick thinking, got them to basically kill themselves. Talk about stupid.

A Ralad, in case you don't know, is a smallish, blue-gray-skinned person with red hair. While they look a little funny and can't talk thanks to Thaegan, I can't say I mind them at all.

Well, this guy warned us through the Ralad drawing language that Thaegan was going to be after us in a bit. Just as I thought that it couldn't get any worse that night, Lief woke me up in the middle of catnapping by screaming.

He wasn't in any danger, but he was having a nightmare. I never will be sure how people like him (young, inexperienced, and generally naïve) manage to get into night terrors, but I suppose it isn't really my business to ask. I rudely poked him, only to have him latch onto the offending arm. That would be why my handwriting is messier than usual – he grabbed my right arm. Hah, it's little better than chicken-scratch now (where did that term come from, anyway?).

Well, at least he wasn't whining or anything.

It isn't the first time I've wondered about the other three members of our quartet.

I never asked Lief where he came from, or who his parents are. Aside from the occasional mention of Del, I really didn't have a clue where or how any of them had grown up, or what life they'd lived.

Well, they know even less about me, so I suppose it goes both ways.

Honestly, while I remember my parents and my friends for back in Elibe, I don't know them beyond who they are to me.

Where had Mom and Dad come from? How did they know Keras' and Alana's parents?

How did they even know so much about Deltora when Roy and the other great lords had no idea?

Well, I suppose I'll just have to ask them someday. Maybe I'll know a bit more about myself, in a way.

Too much musing for one night. I'm going to bed.

– Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal,

We have reached Raladin.

I think I should have expected that the Ralads would have done something brilliant to escape the Shadow Lord's eyes. Mom always used to say that they were too smart for anyone's good, but I like it.

We get three days to rest here, and then we're leaving again.

I guess I don't mind, but I am a bit worried. I haven't gotten a scrap of work done in all my time here, and Roy is expecting that report in a few months. I haven't got time, and my memory isn't good enough to retrace all my steps.

Well, I'll figure that out later. Someone is playing a lullaby, and it's making me sleepy for some reason.

(A/N: In a different color of ink) – Whoops.

* * *

Dear Journal,

Ouch. Seriously, I'm in pain. I think the giant fish broke a rib.

Shame he couldn't break my arm, huh?

I am really tired right now, so I'll explain things more thoroughly later.

The basic rundown: Manus led us to the Lake of Tears, but we did something stupid (haven't a clue what, yet) and got the giant fish Soldeen to try and eat us. And he nearly did. Lief had the brilliant forethought to throw two of our packs at the back of Soldeen's throat. Nice plan, but he threw Jasmine and Barda's packs. He fell backwards, so his supplies are as good as useless now, and my pack only has clothes, books, and technical equipment like ropes. No food.

I'm not all that hungry, honestly. I think the Lake's making me sick to my stomach. Maybe if I didn't have such a heightened sense of smell, I wouldn't be so out of it. The others don't seem so bothered.

Oh, Manus is playing again. It sounds nice, but I'm not sleepy, just feeling really, really bad.

And holy mother of –

* * *

Dear Journal,

I'm sorry I cut off the last two entries, but I was interrupted.

Turns out that Soldeen is very complicated. For one, he isn't a fish monster. He was a guy, normal as can be, under Thaegan's curse. And he likes Manus's music, which brings me back to the other point.

I nearly got eaten. Again. And Soldeen wasn't the one who was going to do the eating.

Lief did most of the distracting by poking with that sword of his, and the other two dragged Manus away. They didn't want him getting caught by Soldeen, I guess. As for me, I just stood there for a minute until everything sank in.

Then I charged.

Ice magic is a lot easier if you know what in heck you're doing. I do, sort of. It's even easier if you're in the proper form to do it. I wasn't.

You see, I'm a shapeshifter. I can transform into any animal or human under six feet tall that weighs less than nine hundred pounds, short of my real form. Good enough? Not by a long shot.

About the only form that could stand up to Soldeen was a no-no. How the heck was I supposed to explain turning into a dragon the size of a house, for the Durandal's sake? It just wasn't possible.

So, I blasted the fishy with enough _chain lightning_ spells to light up a Christmas tree.

That spell is actually pretty low-level. Not much you can do besides charge some other moron's spells with that one. But for one without any magical defense, it was a nasty shock

Then Thaegan came, spitting fire and shooting lightning. Ouch.

I do not like Thaegan. Thaegan does not like me, or anyone else for that matter. Doesn't matter, actually, since she's dead now.

Kree, Jasmine's pet bird who left and returned at some point that I forget to specify, jabbed Thaegan on the one part of her body that didn't have some sort of magical armor.

Well, it explained why none of my attacks were getting to her.

Thaegan promptly turned into a nasty yellow cloud and died. I don't know what happened next besides Lief getting the ruby – I was dizzy and sick beyond belief and just wanted to lay down somewhere.

Still am. Imagine, a hero who gets motion sickness. Keras would be laughing _so_ hard right now if he knew.

As the others lead me back to Raladin, I'm as good as dead walking. Bed. Now.

– Oceanus

* * *

**A/N**: This was written so late at night...I'm going to bed. Tell me if you see any spelling or grammar errors.


	4. A Poisonous Ally

Chapter Four: A Poisonous Ally

A/N: This story, since it's basically one character rattling on and on about almost nothing, is very easy to write, as well as being funny. I'm glad that Oceanus is so sarcastic. It makes everyone else look like an optimist. Or a saint.

The title refers to Oceanus's personality at this point, by the way. Also, you'll notice that his tone changes a little in this chapter.

More character profiles:

Guinevere: Mentioned in Roy's profile on SSB:M, Guinevere is the princess of Bern, the militaristic head of the entire continent. At the end of FE6, she becomes Queen after her brother, the former King Zephiel, dies at Roy's hands. She can be seen over the course of FE7 as a child, during the death of her father at her brother's blade.

Mildain: Prince of Etruria. One day, he was nearly assassinated by traitors who wished to weaken the country. After his 'death', his father fell into a deep depression and performed as a puppet on strings to his chief advisor's whims. It is unknown at the end of the game if Mildain and his father ever meet again formally, but in this story he has inherited the throne after his father's death.

Ilia: A snowy wasteland where the people's only option for income is to hire out their fighters as famously loyal mercenaries. Even after Lord Hector's death, the Ilian mercenaries he had hired beforehand refused to defect to Bern's side. In my story, Oceanus's father, Sinya, was born there.

Western Isles: A region off the coast of Elibe that was plagued by pirates under the control of a select few corrupt Etrutrian lords. This area is rich in minerals, and the people there live in constant fear of being kidnapped to work there until they die. Roy stopped this system during the latter half of FE6. Immersa, Oceanus's mother, was born here.

Numerous other nations such as Ostia and Sacae exist, but they do not play a major part in Oceanus's story.

During the course of FE7 (my version, only linkable to this story), Immersa and Sinya sided with Eliwood. They, moreover, were faithful soldiers of Roy's when he was forced to play his part in FE6, and were some of the only members of their kind who fought at all. They also knew Ninian, but weren't present when she died.

Oceanus _says_ he's 16, but he's lying. XD

* * *

Dear Journal,

I have come to one inescapable conclusion.

Mankind is a species full of imbeciles. I know that they can't transform to escape capture, nor can they live as long as my kind do, but come on! A net, of all things…

Perhaps I ought to start from the beginning.

The four of us (or six if you counted Kree and Filli) were walking off and out of Thaegan's territory. Technically, it wasn't really hers anymore since she was dead and all. Eventually, Jasmine and I felt like our group was being followed, so she put her ear to a tree and I cocked my head and added some magic.

I'm not the best in the world at manipulating raw magic like that, but I'm not a spellcaster for nothing. I wasn't going to be outdone by an Amazon, after all.

There were several things following us, for sure. I didn't know quite how many, but I could tell a wolf howl from a demon snarl. This was evidence of the latter.

I didn't bother explaining how I knew what I did, but I did tell them what I'd found. Jasmine confirmed the group tracking us, and also specified that there were eleven. For some reason, I felt like, at that point, I should have cared about this little detail. Like all little voices in the back of one's head, they are all too easy to ignore. I did so.

The others knew that outrunning wolves was like saying that the sun wouldn't rise – it just wasn't going to happen. Jasmine might have climbed the trees, but I had never been in a forest beyond the light ones in Elibe that were barely a mile in any direction. Hence, my lack of ability to climb trees with any semblance of stealth, grace, or speed. It was a wonder I hadn't been eaten back in the Forests of Silence.

Oh, wait. If I had been eaten, I might have transformed, and something would have exploded. Never mind.

It was just this sort of thinking that got me into trouble, just like my dim-witted companions.

The wolves had shown up by then – they were all sorts of colors from yellow with spots to red, big, and hairy. They all had black mouths, and were larger than normal wolves. For a size comparison, get a good look at a cow.

Every time we stepped back, the wolves took a step forwards. I did a quick head count and saw that there were indeed eleven of them. I was pretty sure that that number was really important by that point, but, as always, I was too focused on the present to think about the future.

We took one more collective step backwards and suddenly the ground was a lot farther away. We'd been caught in a _net_, of all things.

Oh, now they're laughing at me. How very funny. Too bad I can't fry them with some spell. Blasted recoil.

I ended up with Barda (the big oaf) sitting on my stomach and Lief's elbow on my jugular. And they expected me to do something?! As if. I could have, again, transformed, but something besides the enemy might have died. Us, for example.

As we were adjusting to our new accommodations, the eleven wolves transformed into eleven fiends. There was one big, red one, along with several sets of U-G-L-Y twins and a couple that didn't look to resemble anything I'd ever seen before. Lief mentioned the thirteen children of Thaegan, of which eleven remained. I guess we shouldn't have killed the witch or those freaks a week back…

The monsters started chanting that 'Fresh meat soon' thing over and over, just like Jin and Jod had. They built a fire under the four of us, and started arguing over who got to eat what. Apparently, Ichabod, the big, ugly one, wanted two legs and a head.

Recounting them, Lief must have noticed that two of the monsters were protesting about equal shares. While four is actually a pretty easy number to divide by, there were eleven of them. Lief noted this, at the top of his lungs. Barda followed suit while I was choking and Jasmine said something very rude at both of them.

Now, Filli, Jasmine's little rat/squirrel/chipmunk is a lot smarter than we give him credit for. He slipped out of the net, nibbled a giant-sized hole in the net, and we got away while the monsters started beating the crap out of each other for the right to eat us. Jasmine knocked Ichabod into the fire as were high-tailed it out of there.

The other three flopped down in the ground as soon as we ran past the border of Thaegan's territory, asleep as soon as they hit the grass. And when I finish up my self-narration, I think I'll be joining them.

- Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal,

My friends are morons. It's not like they knew before they bought the beasts how dangerous they were, but rather they're stupid because they refuse to listen to me. I have a copy of several books on Deltoran history, along with a bestiary field guide, a cliff notes version of the Deltoran Annals…you name it, and I have it.

I even have topography maps. I probably could have done with those before I went out on this crazy adventure. I mean, I had them, I just forgot about it.

Anyway, the four of us finally decided to return to the land of the living and start looking for Tom's shop, which I forgot to mention last time.

Tom's an older guy, who runs a shop that just _buzzes_ with magic. Some things, like the self-coiling rope and the pipe that blew glowing bubbles, were very interesting and made me wonder if I could get one back home. However, I wasn't so in love with the fire beads.

Lief and Barda, as it happens, are as good as broke. I _know_ they're out of money, since I watched them spend it all on stuff like cushioned socks and those instant-bread things. The idiots never once asked me to foot the bill, which I could have done quite easily. It's not like I actually have much of a hoard back home, but I did have the forethought to bring some of my small fortune with me.

I guess that's the thing with me. Unless you ask, I'll never tell.

However sadistically amused I may have been at their money troubles, even I had to draw the line when they bought the muddlets.

Muddlets are three-legged beasts, about the size of horses. They have wedge-shaped heads and long, floppy ears. Most of them have varying amounts of spots on them, and those aren't limited to the usual horse tones. I saw one with blue spots once, but that isn't really important. Anyway, muddlets have one really thick leg in front and two smaller ones in back, and their bodies are about as wide around as the average barrel with their rears even larger.

Besides, muddlets are known for being abnormally focused on two things – their home field and rotting apples. Upon getting a whiff of either, they'll bolt and go after it, sometimes dragging themselves through quicksand, fogs, forests, you name it. And supposedly, they'll bolt upon the seeing any small, furry animal. Considering that they used to live on the plain where the City of the Rats stands, I guess it isn't surprising.

If you're wondering how I know this, I have a scroll called _Monsters of Deltora_. If it's accurate, I guess I'll be very busy when it comes to the later days of our adventure.

- Oceanus

* * *

Oceanus closed his journal with a none-too-subtle grumble. It wasn't his fault that the other three were so set on using muddlets. Having traveled everywhere either on foot or by flight, this riding business was a foreign concept. He just wasn't comfortable, and the information in his head wasn't at all reassuring.

Besides, unless he felt like sharing Noodle with Lief, he was going to have to walk in any case. Just one look at the beasts told him that they could outstrip him easily.

Perhaps he would have protested against the purchase of the muddlets, but his companions either trusted their own judgment or just didn't care for his. Oceanus suspected it was a bit of both. If they went ahead, it was unlikely that he'd ever be able to catch up.

Despite that, he had a map of his own that gave him a pretty good idea what they would do. It was a road map, therefore useless for his friends, who had planned to be trekking through wilderness for a majority of their journey. Along the road Tom's shop was located; there was a fork in the path. It was about an hour's travel away, if the muddlets moved approximately as fast as horses.

One road led to Miller's Rise, a longer route to the Broad River. The other was shorter, but had the ominous city of Noradz exactly on the road, close to the river. If he were to guess, Oceanus was almost positive that Lief, Barda, and Jasmine would take the shorter road.

Gritting his teeth at his own vow of silence, Oceanus cursed whatever gods had struck humankind with the plague of foolishness. There were too many unknown factors, but it seemed as if, for now, the young mage would have to stay his hand for a time. If the Shadow Lord, the lords back home, and the people of Deltora could be patient, so could he.

He bit his lip, feeling the first stirrings of worry. He only hoped it wouldn't be too long.

* * *

Several days after his friends left to go to the City of Rats (they had asked him to come, but he had refused and they hadn't understood why); Oceanus was sitting on the railing of Tom's paddock. The three gray horses still stood behind their fence, and seemed to be getting restless.

In the early morning, an entire pod of Gray Guards had appeared. They paid the mage no heed, since they had obviously come a long way and his appearance was now more unremarkable than it had been – dark brown hair, with flat, green eyes. His skin tone hadn't changed, but he did look a lot more bored than he had when his friends had left without him.

Though Tom had regarded him with detached interest, Oceanus had neither asked for the shopkeeper's charity nor did he get it. Over the last days he had simply waited, not even bothering to eat anything substantial, as he had little need to do so. As his father had said once, the difference between what one needs to eat and what _can_ eat is vast.

Despite all the powers he had gained, Oceanus did not have the gift of prophecy. As such, he was pleasantly surprised when his companions tumbled out of carts driven by three Ra-Kachars. The red-clothed people had only spared him a glance, clearly as uninterested as the Guards had been, so his appearance had been overlooked by them.

His friends did no such thing.

First, they had demanded why he had stayed behind. Oceanus told them with some relief, but not without scolding all three for their lack of judgment upon hearing their story.

"Next time, follow an ally's advice, would you?" Oceanus finished, thoroughly exasperated. His mild annoyance gave no hint of the inner rage at their foolishness, and he preferred to keep it that way.

Tom appeared, and the other three jumped on him with accusations. Oceanus didn't particularly care – he may not have been the wisest of his closest friends (not Lief, Jasmine, or Barda, but the other two), but he could recognize a person whose desire to live overshadowed all else.

"Leave him alone," the mage said waspishly. "There are never going to be that many people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the common good. You three may, but any others would back out. Get over it."

Tom shooed them off, after warning Lief, Barda, and Jasmine to take the Ra-Kachars' garments with them. Oceanus doubted he wanted to know the details of how they'd gotten those.

As they left the clearing of Tom's shop and were a suitable distance away from the road, the other three admonished him for keeping back information.

"We could have been killed! Why did you keep silent?!" Jasmine hissed. Her green eyes were blazing, and her tanned cheeks flushed scarlet.

Oceanus gave her a scornful look. "Unfortunately, I can't say anything unless you ask me first. Has to do with the promises I made before joining you. You were simply too preoccupied to do so."

"Which is another way of saying we were fools, correct?" Lief demanded hotly. Oceanus regarded him with the same dissention as he had felt as he wrote his journal entries. It still hadn't worn off.

"Precisely. Though it was obvious that I'd traveled beyond the walls of Del and you hadn't, you kept to yourselves and asked only each other about what lies ahead. You all knew and still know nothing about how this place is laid out." An injured pride that had been stifled began rearing its ugly head, and the mage made no move to quell it. "I'm not supposed to meet a Deltoran without killing him. Don't you get it? If I had followed my directions without pause, you wouldn't exist!" Oceanus ignored their cries of shock. He pressed on, letting the targets for his temper feel its full effects. He had kept his mouth shut for too long, and his already-weak control had splintered under the strain. He was absently surprised that he hadn't started shooting ice from his fingertips.

"By some chance, I decided that you morons were more important than my mission – _of my home's safety_ – and chose to help. And what have you done? Refused any advice I could've given with your blasted secrecy, and gotten yourselves into more trouble than should be humanly possible! My patience wasn't very strong to begin with, but you've been pushing it since day one! What in Adin's name about me do you hate so much?!"

Even as he finished, Oceanus was aware of a distinct change in the atmosphere. While it had become more hostile, especially since he first began snapping at them, he could sense a sort of understanding from Lief. Barda distrusted him arguably more, and Jasmine looked stunned by his outburst.

Panting, Oceanus collapsed on the edge of the clearing they were in. His shouting had relieved his own tension, but the pent-up emotions of his comrades were not so suppressed.

Lief sat down beside him, but he decided not to make a move. Barda was calming, slowly, and Jasmine was coming to grips with her stoic comrade's explosive temper quite well.

The mage waited for almost a full minute, wondering what the other boy would say.

Finally, Lief spoke, his voice calmer than Oceanus could ever remember it being. "I believe we are…too used to our ways. Your appearance and powers are unusual, so it is not strange that we cannot trust you in the face of it. The only others who have had similar powers are Thaegan and the Shadow Lord, so I am sure you can understand."

"I guess so." Oceanus said mildly, staring up at the treetops. Lying against the ground was a balm for his nerves, he supposed. "You haven't had a good impression of sorcerers. I get that. But I thought…never mind."

Jasmine seemed to have decided that the melancholy mood had gone on long enough. "What is it?"

"It's just I'd thought that…after Thaegan and Gorl, and everything else…you would have learned a bit about my crazy habits, but I guess that's my fault." He sat up abruptly, smiling a bit sadly. "I can't tell you much beyond the fact that I was ordered to come here. My people – well, mostly my people's leaders – have decided that Deltora's become a threat." The sad smile didn't fade when Lief started in shock.

"Deltora?! How could we be a threat to – wait, where is this home of yours?" Lief asked, after changing his wording mid-sentence.

But Oceanus shook his head, "Lord Roy specifically told me not to mention that. I can tell you this much, though – my original mission was to figure out where key attack sites would be and map everything out. It's not uncommon for my people to send spies months in advance of any attack. If we – or you, I guess – can restore the Belt before the Shadow Lord decides to attack, you'll save both countries from a long, harsh war."

With that sobering thought, the companions continued their journey in relative silence, broken only by Kree's occasional calls.

* * *

It only took the four to discover one very big obstacle in their plan to secure the third gem.

Namely, the Broad River itself.

Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Oceanus supposed that the most obvious problems were the only ones left out of his calculations. Every single time, something like this came back to bite him.

"This…is a problem," he said needlessly. Oceanus only saw two options, really. One was to risk revealing a good number of his secret abilities and the other was just to wait until his friends could come up with their own solution.

He chose the latter and was not disappointed.

As the quartet made it across the river with their handy-dandy Water Eaters, Oceanus was pleased to note when he snatched the tin from Lief that there were still a few left. Tucking them into his bag, he sat down as his companions made their preparations for the night.

Just because he was relaxing, however, did not mean that Oceanus was off-guard completely. Even as the sun began to set and his friends built their fire, Oceanus kept his light-sensitive eyes locked on the dark shape of the City of Rats in the distance. While the others kept their minds on their dinner, the young mage could not help but feel like they were being watched.

As before, Oceanus was not proved wrong. The plain was suddenly alive with huge, black rats.

One thought dominated all others in the foursome's minds: _run_.

And run they did, pausing only long enough to scoop up the fire beads and bolt again. Oceanus had never taken off his bag, but kept pace with the others all the same.

Even as he ran, the sounds of shrieking rats reached his delicate ears. Worse, the sound never seemed to get any farther away. Risking a glance back, he was horrified to discover that for every rat that stopped to devour their belongings, another hundred streamed after them.

It was only seconds until they had reached the bank. Despite that, the rats clawed through the water after them, making up a vile, squealing swarm of bodies.

Despite his restraint, Oceanus barely kept from yelling in shock as a ball of fire engulfed a section of the rats he had been about to freeze solid. Twisting his head, he noticed the jar of fire beads in Lief's hand, and thanked his lucky stars that fortune had finally come knocking. Another magical fire exploded onto the shore, and hundreds of rats simply died of the sudden heat.

He, Barda, and Jasmine worked furiously while Lief lengthened the blazing wall, hacking at the remaining rats in self-defense. The fire wall was working, and eventually no more rats came to challenge them.

Muttering a dark oath under his breath, Oceanus got ready for a long, sleepless night.

* * *

They entered the city the next day.

Beforehand, the other three had put on the Ra-Kachars' outfits, which were among the only things untouched by the rats of the previous night. Otherwise, there was the pipe that blew bubbles of light and about three square inches of fabric could have been someone's pack. Oceanus was suddenly very glad that he had never put his down.

As his friends had suited up, he had caught the question in their eyes before they had spoken.

"What will you do? The rats may not find these garments at all tasteful, but I can tell you right now that your outfit is of no protection." Barda put in.

Oceanus smiled at him impishly, feeling strangely awake despite the miserable night. "I _do_ know magic, you know." Cracking his knuckles first, the mage pressed his index fingers together, and snapped both middle fingers. Instantly, he shone with a soft white glow that extended a few inches from his skin and clothes. Shaking himself, Oceanus explained, "It's a type of shield, but I can't cast it on anyone besides myself."

"Is magic really so common a tool where you come from?" Lief looked a little unnerved as he said that.

Oceanus shrugged. "I don't think that that many of my people are magic-users, but definitely more than here."

"Oh," was all the reply he got to that.

As they made their way through the dark city, the others' dubious looks had faded as soon as the first rat had tried to gnaw on their friend. It had slid right off and sported broken teeth immediately afterward when he kicked it.

They made good time after stopping to survey the damage for a bit. The city was completely closed off from the sky and the plains which made it a rather eerie place to be. Oceanus rocked on his heels when his companions dallied too long at a single area, sniffing the air. Rat was the dominating scent, but there was an undertone of something else…

At that instant, Lief took off running. Jumping in alarm, the mage and the boy's two other friends scampered after him. It wasn't easy – Lief was unusually fast, and there were yet more rats to avoid tripping on.

Eventually, after much more running and dodging crumbling architecture, the trailing threesome managed to catch up with their fleet-footed friend. They found him in what had once been a massive meeting hall, with great oak beams spanning the ceiling. Something in the darkness shifted, and Oceanus's eyes went wide when he saw exactly what.

A snake.

_I **hate** snakes_, Oceanus thought absently as he took in the full form of the monstrous reptile. It was as thick as an ancient tree and almost a hundred feet long. Its scales were a combination of forest green and olive, with a rust-red belly with massive sections, like a caterpillar's. As its vast body swayed like a desert cobra, its head finally came into sight.

On the giant serpent's brow was the crowning glory – literally. A gold crown rested there, inlaid with the largest opal any of them had ever seen. However, it was the exact size and shape of the other gems in the Belt of Deltora.

Oceanus supposed he might have gone temporarily deaf, since he failed to hear Barda or Jasmine ducking out of the way of the beast's tail, or the snake's hissing commands. He did, however, hear Lief shout parts of what seemed a one-sided conversation. In any case, the mage concluded from its quiet, malevolent laughter that Lief was losing his battle of words.

Oceanus saw the fangs flash before the other boy did, shrouded as they were in shadow.

He did the only thing he could. He tackled Lief out of the way of the strike.

Lief, thankfully, had not lost hold of his sword with his fall, and now they were both slightly more prepared to take on their foe. Oceanus concentrated, and brought a flickering white light to his hand. It shook and it sizzled in the air, barely contained by his control.

As Lief hurled the jar of fire beads at the beast (and missed), however, Oceanus's magic sputtered and died.

Lief was suddenly aware that his companion had frozen where he stood, eyes wide as he stared at the massive fireball. It was that moment of stillness that the snake took advantage of, smashing the mage into a column and reducing it to splinters. He didn't stir, and his magic shield gave out.

At that exact instant, as Reeah's head drew lower to strike at Lief, rather than the others, Lief's sword was wrenched from his grip and went flying. He managed to sidestep the second attack of the snapping jaws, but didn't dodge far enough.

The next thing he knew, Reeah had him.

It all happened so quickly next – one moment Jasmine had appeared in his sight again, the next she had carved the massive snake's throat out. And then he was hitting the ground…and nothing.

* * *

It took Lief a while to come to, but eventually everyone was awake and more or less alright. Oceanus was completely silent as they hurried out of the ruins of the City of the Rats (which proceeded to collapse on itself), not even commenting when Lief revealed the connection between Noradz and the structure they'd just fled.

He didn't respond to Jasmine's prodding about why he'd frozen like that, either. Oceanus had looked like he was going to hit her at one point, since she could be as annoyingly persistent as an itch sometimes.

Finally, he stood up and said, "There's still a lot of work to do. Don't tell me you plan on staying here all day?"

* * *

A/N: That seemed like a good place to leave that off. Geez, that's over 4,700 words right there. Man, the chapters keep stretching like taffy…

Illuminé: Alana's mother, who may appear in the later chapters. She has a very nasty temper, and is also ridiculously powerful.

Radon: Alana's father, who is very unlikely to show up later. He fits the idea of a 'reluctant hero' to the letter.

Sahara: Keras's mother, who probably won't debut until the chapters on Dragons of Deltora (yes, this story is going to span all of the series). She's very talkative and a bit crazy, but she does know when to come down hard.

Copernicus: Keras's father, an unlikely candidate for much of anything until the later chapters. He is nice, but he is also the 'Robin Hood' character of the group.

Oceanus's old man and mom aren't going to come until the middle part of the story, and they won't be staying for long.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	5. Brass Knuckles and Copper Coins

Chapter Five: Brass Knuckles and Copper Coins

A/N: The chapter title refers to someone the quartet meet in this chapter :)

The 'brass knuckles' bit is important – you'll see why when they meet face-to-face.

None of my characters belong in canon of anything. And I would have thought that someone would know what Oceanus is by now. I never refer to it directly, so you could consider it a red herring of sorts.

This chapter actually spends minimal time with Oceanus. The rest centers on the new person.

* * *

Dear Journal,

It's been a long walk through the Plain of Rats. Thankfully, some god had the mercy of finding a distraction for those infernal rodents.

In any case, the aforementioned deity apparently found it funnier to let us walk the whole way to our next goal, the Shifting Sands. The Sands seemed to be a long way off, and I didn't like the sound of it then. I don't now, either.

Maybe I forgot to mention this, but my people have never done well in deserts. My mother grew up around deep water, like the kind ports are built around. My father loved the mountains, the ones that have nine-feet of snow all year round. I don't prefer one to the other, but I do like mountains that have access to water, whether as an escape route or something else.

Well, that was a bit of wandering, but only to reinforce this point – a barren wasteland with a searing sun is not my preferred vacation spot. Don't have one, as a matter of fact.

I don't think I'll be able to stand this for much longer.

Oh, it looks as though Kree has finally returned with news.

Off we go…I hope we don't die on our next little adventure.

- Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal,

I never thought I would have to say this, but I really hated swimming back there in the Broad River. I mean, I don't have a problem at all with water, nor did I have much trouble hiding from the scouting Ak-Baba up above (I transformed into a fish), but it wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had.

I almost saw them die.

I mean, it isn't their fault that they can't breathe underwater, but they scared me half to death. I didn't realize how concerned I was over their well-being until that moment. I completely forgot about the Ak-Baba as the other fish swarmed them, hiding them from the monstrous vulture.

I don't think I've been that thoughtless and stupid since I was a baby. That time, I'd nearly been skewered when I'd interrupted Mother when she was chopping vegetables. This time, I'd almost lost control over my form in my panic to help them.

I think I realized, then, that I am afraid of things. I can act as cocky as I want, but it won't change the fact that I fear loss more than anything. Even the loss of people I've barely known for a month.

I think Jasmine went off to find food. I guess I'll write again later.

- Oceanus

* * *

Log Book –

I've made it to Rithmere. I'm pretty sure that their crazy adventure will lead them through here, so I think I'll see my little brother soon enough.

- Keras

* * *

Log Book –

I _really_ hate my life. I didn't know I could be landed as a nursemaid so fast.

Well, you see, it was an accident.

I had seen Oceanus almost enter the Games Inn with his friends before abruptly shaking his head, probably adding some blistering remark to boot. Then he stalked off, probably to sulk or something equally stubborn like that. He hadn't changed at all.

I decided not to try and confront him (I _had_ left Elibe without his knowledge _and_ against his orders, after all). I rather like having all my body parts intact, thank you very much.

Going against my better judgment, I decided to take an alley shortcut back to the inn where I was staying.

Big mistake.

Being the absolutely _brilliant_ lad I am, I decided to stand and fight as soon as the bandits jumped me. I hadn't ever won the Games Champion honor before, so I wasn't really sure why they were attacking me. It might have had something to so with the gold armband I always wear…nah.

Anyway, I did away with two of the three by cracking their heads together, but almost lost track of the third. The last guy had the gall to try and sneak up behind me, but I got him by jabbing my elbow backwards at my shoulder level. For a normal-sized man, that would have crushed his throat.

However, to my surprise, I heard _two_ thumps.

I spun around and stopped, frozen.

Apparently, Oceanus had seen the thugs try to surprise me, and, being the chivalrous idiot that he is, probably jumped in to help. If it hadn't been me, I suppose the rescue would have been a success.

I'd ended up giving my best friend a concussion.

What a wonderful way to have a reunion.

- Keras

* * *

Log Book –

Oceanus woke up for a bit today. He was still too weak to lift his head, but he managed to talk to me about his new friends. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine were entering the Rithmere Games under false names. He described their special abilities and a bit about their personalities, so I guess I know what to look for now.

I don't know exactly what's wrong with him, but I think he's going to be okay. I mean, we used to fight all the time when we were smaller…I guess it's really a hopeful wish. Without Oceanus, I'm not sure the other three will make it out okay.

- Keras

* * *

Log Book –

I went to the Games. I think I recognized the three people Oceanus had been giving a hard time, and memorized their faces.

The next day, I decided to watch the finals. I'd missed the other matches because I was busy trying to figure out everything that was wrong with my friend, but I have a little free time now, seeing as I used a sleeping spell so he'd rest longer. Otherwise he'd be up and about, breaking bones or something equally careless.

I've seen Oceanus out of action several times, but none bothered me more than that long wait in that room.

That, of course, might have been because he was hogging my bed.

Anyway, the Rithmere Games had entered the final round by the time I decided to show. The finalists are as follows: Neridah the Swift (who I hate), Glock (who I _really_ hate), Doom (who I respect, I guess), Joanna (who I've never heard of), Orwen – he who is the size of a bear, and Twig (Lief), Berry (Barda), and Birdie (Jasmine). I had to laugh a little as Mother Brightly announced their pseudonyms out loud – they _sucked_.

Twig (Lief) vs. Neridah went like this: Neridah wins through a rather clever trick. Or maybe I'm giving her too much credit and Lief's just stupid.

Berry (Barda) vs. Doom: Doom wins by distracting Barda and cracking him in the jaw. That _really_ had to hurt. I suppose I had the best angle for _that_…

Glock vs. Joanna: Glock almost strangles Joanna, but Orwen stopped him before he could finish her off. Joanna still lost, but I think it was better than some. I'm disappointed in Deltorans to admit that everyone besides me was cheering the thug on.

Birdie (Jasmine) vs. Orwen: Even though Glock clobbered him, Jasmine was still pronounced the winner of her match.

The finals begin in a bit, but I'm not interested in watching this slaughter-fest. I'll stay well out of the stands this time – while I'm not adverse to a little craziness now and then, I'm not interested in events where they pound people into the ground for sport.

- Keras

* * *

"Excuse me, but do you have a traveling companion by the name of Oceanus?" the strange boy asked, shooting Mother Brightly a dark look. The woman blinked, surprised. Perhaps she had never been glared at before.

Either way, Lief went on high alert. This young man was almost as tall as Barda, though much more lightly built. He had a striped headband wrapped around his brow. His hair was brown and very messy, and his eyes were a strange color – blue-green, like turquoise. His shirt was loose and sleeveless, and he wore a faded red vest. Most striking was his golden armlet, and a strange brand on his opposite arm. Completing this strange array was a copper-colored loop stuck through his left ear.

"Yes. Why?" Barda asked gruffly, and Lief knew he was sizing up his opponent.

The other held up his hands in defense. Lief noted that he didn't really seem nervous, just vaguely cautious. He was humoring Barda.

"Geez, take it easy. It's not like I could take on all of you at once." So he had noticed Barda's hostility. That alone could make him dangerous. The boy shrugged, and said, "I doubt he'd ever mention me to anyone, but my name's Keras. Though I don't think he'll ever say this out loud, either, I'm one of his best friends."

He pressed his fingertips together. "You won't listen unless I bring him here?"

Lief exchanged looks with his companions, and nodded once.

Keras sighed. "Sorry, but no can do. He was still unconscious when I left him."

Needless to say, that was not the way to explain _that_.

Nursing a welt on his cheek, Keras wholeheartedly agreed with one thing Oceanus had said all those years ago when they were still kids.

Girls were weird.

That was his first, awkward thought as he reeled from Jasmine's punch.

"Well, if nothing else, you just proved I wasn't a Shadow Lord servant," Keras grumbled as Lief helped him to his feet. The complaint actually reminded Lief of Oceanus a bit, though not aimed at him.

"I do not think he is lying." Barda said finally.

Keras smiled, rubbing his jaw. "Thanks." Jumping to his feet, Keras beckoned for them to follow him.

As they exited the Inn without a second glance at Mother Brightly, Keras strode ahead. The distance was great enough to make a stranger believe the three knew exactly where they were going and were not trailing after the other.

Eventually, Keras slowed and entered the lobby of an inn that they could vaguely remember from their first day in Rithmere.

As they passed the host, who was old and probably deaf, Keras spoke. "Have you heard about what happens to Games Champions after they win?"

Lief nodded, though the taller boy couldn't see, "They disappear. Mother Brightly told us how they are attacked and robbed–"

"Wrong." Keras interrupted. "If she told you that, she either was mistaken or lied to your faces." They were walking very quickly through the halls now, as if to shake off unwanted pursuers. Lief noted that Keras' hands were clenched into fists, as if he was angry or nervous, "Games Champions and finalists are captured by Gray Guards before even leaving Rithmere. The Guards are their new captors until they reach the Shadowlands."

Lief narrowed his eyes at the other, "Can you prove your words?"

Keras whipped around so quickly that Lief stepped back, surprised. The older boy's eyes matched him stare for stare, and he said, "Go back to the Inn, if you don't believe me. Go, get caught in Brightly's trap and die in the Shadow Arena." The venom in his voice was almost alarming, but the anger soon died.

Running a hand through his hair, Keras muttered, "Sorry. I'm a little too used to being with people who don't try to correct me. Most of them figure that my eyes and ears are better than theirs."

Lief knew he was supposed to be suspicious. He knew it right down to his bones that Keras was too strange to be trusted fully. But…

Keras mostly ignored them as he pulled a brass-colored key off his belt and unlocked the door they had stopped to argue in front of. As the door swung in, it revealed a plain, unremarkable room with one bed and two packs set up against one wall.

Oceanus was sitting on the bed, tugging one of his boots on. He looked up when he heard the door's hinges creak, but gave no reaction. All he did was raise his eyebrows slightly.

"I didn't know we were going to have company, Keras," the boy said pointedly.

Keras, Lief noticed, did not look at all pleased. "You were supposed to rest today."

Oceanus snorted, as if it were a suggestion from a fool. "Not a chance."

Keras sighed, walked over to the other boy, and smacked him hard on the back of his head.

Lief was stunned, and he knew that Jasmine and Barda were startled when all Oceanus did in retaliation was glare.

Keras narrowed his teal eyes further, and said pointedly, "They are your _friends_. You can't let people close to you just think you're invincible." He sat down on the bed next to Oceanus and added, "You can't be a self-sacrificial moron like you were all those years ago, either."

The mage now looked vaguely ashamed, and fixed his gaze on the flooring without a word.

Keras sighed. He waved the standing trio over and said, "Shut the door. What you're going to hear isn't really a good idea to make into a rumor."

* * *

So they were sitting on the floor of Keras' inn room, as the young man spoke of the problems that had plagued their close-mouthed comrade.

"I think you've heard life stories before, so I'll skip that. Point is, Oceanus and I have been friends since we were seven when I saved him from a fire. He still has the burns, despite that. Because of that, a big fire tends to make him freeze up. You may have noticed this sort of thing before…" Keras explained.

Lief nodded, "In the City of the Rats," – Lief made a point not to conceal much from Keras, who definitely knew who they were already – "I remember him simply halting, even though Reeah was not facing him at all. I believe that the jar of fire beads had already smashed against the supports."

"The ones Tom sells?" Barda made a noise of confirmation. Keras continued, blatantly ignoring the fact that Oceanus looked uncomfortable with all this talk of his history, but too immersed in some other thought to care all that much. "Anyway, I doubt you've noticed this, but your food supply is probably…larger than you would think, traveling with four people and all."

Jasmine blinked, as if a light had suddenly gone off in her head. Barda's eyes widened in sudden, unpleasant comprehension. Lief abruptly recalled that whenever they sat down to eat, Oceanus made a point of ignoring them or going off on his own. Considering that they had been traveling for weeks…

"You were starving yourself?" Lief asked the mage quietly, who looked even more ashamed than before at the mention of it.

Keras's hard eyes gentled somewhat. "Oceanus has survivor's guilt. He thinks, also, that the lives of others are worth more than his. It took Alana and me quite a while to get him to stop thinking like that."

Oceanus made a vague grumbling noise. It sounded a bit like "sorry", but not much.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Jasmine asked, looking as though she truly pitied him. Lief, for one, pitied anyone who Jasmine pitied to the tenth degree.

"It's not important," Oceanus insisted, but not all that strongly. "You three probably would have made it this far with or without me. Besides, I could have gone on a while longer–"

"–and your misery would only be noticed after your powers failed and your body gave out." Keras surmised flatly. "I don't really know why you're like this, but it'd be easier on everyone if you'd stop."

"Some people would prefer it if I'd never been born," came the listless reply. Keras flinched. "You know that as well as I do, Keras."

Lief took note of the reaction, and weighed it against his earlier actions.

Keras seemed very uncomfortable, and said, "Well…um…try not to do it again, okay?" He sounded nervous, too.

"Yeah, alright," Oceanus replied, straightening and popping his spine as he did so. "We'd better get going before the Guards realize they've been cheated." He gathered his things and strode out the door, leaving Keras in his room. The sound of a door slamming met their ears as they left the Inn.

Lief supposed they shouldn't have been surprised.

* * *

Much to their surprise, Keras caught up to them as they began to leave the city limits. Panting, he wordlessly handed them a map.

Lief looked over it – the creator had been detailed. The entire area, from the individual buildings in Rithmere to the trail of a road they had used to enter – everything was there. A mass of red in the lower right-hand corner took up a vast part of the paper. Finally, a hasty poem was scribbled in the corner;

_Death swarms within this rocky wall,_

_Where all are one, one will rules all,_

_Below the dead, the living strive,_

_With mindless will to serve the Hive._

Lief blinked at it, "Is this important?"

Keras nodded, finally catching his breath. "I've gotten as far as the warning stone. After that, I stopped trying to explore the place."

"You were told to come here?" Oceanus clarified. "Just like I was?"

There was a low laugh, "Are you kidding? I just decided to do my part and save you some work if I caught up." Keras grinned, showing two rows of straight, slightly pointed teeth. Lief found that sight more than a bit disturbing.

Lief rolled up the map as he spoke, noting how Keras still seemed mildly tense. Lief spoke, "Are you well, Keras? It seems as if there is something on your mind."

Keras stopped, blinked, and then chuckled again. "Well, I guess you're smarter than I thought. Turns out, the Gray Guards who were supposed to catch you earlier have your wristbands and are tracking you with them." That explained the nervousness. He was worried that he could be caught and struck down with blisters, same as the rest of them.

Barda, however, did not take this so easily. "Do you mean that they are following us at this moment?" he asked sharply.

"Well, yes." Keras scratched the back of his head, sheepish. "Anyway, you need to get out of here before they catch up. I laid enough thorns to slow them a bit, but not by much." He bent closer, and whispered urgently. "See the cave marked on the map?"

Lief put his finger on it and nodded. The writing, which read _Low Hideout_, was in spidery print that Lief realized must have been Keras's hand. He had made the map solely to give to them? When?

"I have a friend there who will help you escape." Keras continued. "Whether you decide to follow him all the way back to his stronghold is your choice, but he won't betray you. I know that for a fact."

Jasmine's bright green eyes darkened. "How can we trust you? Who is this 'friend' you speak of?" she demanded.

"You don't have to trust me or him. You can get captured by Gray Guards for all I care." Keras snapped. His voice quickened. "The man is Doom, your opponent from the Games." At Jasmine and Barda's combined exclamations of outrage, he hissed, "He is the leader of the Resistance, for Adin's sake! He will not turn on your unless you do so first!"

When the companions looked pensive, Oceanus said flatly, "We don't have much choice."

Lief looked at him. "What do you mean?"

The mage pointed straight into the crowd, where Lief saw a Gray Guard's helmet emerge. Terror flooded his veins, and he knew that they did not have much choice. No, not at all.

"Hurry!" Keras shouted, already taking to his heels and not turning back. Lief noticed that he was heading back to the city on a distinct path.

A moment later, the Guards were shouting in pain and outrage as the brown shadow weaved in and out between them, and the ground erupted beneath their feet. The shadow soon reappeared beside them, and called, "What are you waiting for, tomorrow?!" as he sped past them.

Lief heard Oceanus give a resigned sigh and dash after him, with his companions close behind. Lief spared a glance over his shoulder at the furious Guards (who had yet to realize that the trap was spent) before taking off as fast as his legs would carry him.

* * *

Some time later, the companions stood at the edge of the Shifting Sands. With Keras's rhyme on hand, they quickly realized what sign he was talking about. Of course, he hadn't left them quite yet, so he pointed it out without a moment's hesitation.

Oceanus took one look that the ominous yellow cloud over the desert and decided that he wasn't going to like it at all. He told Lief as much, who was stunned by his sudden outspokenness.

"You had a vision of this place, right?" Oceanus asked quietly, still staring out at the vast wasteland of red dunes.

Lief swallowed hard. "Yes. The opal…"

"Well, it's no use worrying." Lief blinked at that. There was plenty worrying was good for…wait, now he sounded like his mother.

Oceanus rubbed at his eyes, as if to clear them of red sand. "If you saw it, it'll come. All you should think of is what to do _after_ your vision comes true."

"You think so?" Lief asked quietly, still feeling despair gnaw at his stomach. It would take years to find the gem in all of this sand!

"Yeah," Oceanus put in mildly. "Though, if you feel a bit funny, I think the topaz will help."

Lief bowed his head to hide his sudden smile, absurdly happy that his one-stoic companion had decided to take part in their quest for once. He followed the mage's suggestion, and instantly he felt the fog lift in his mind. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Oceanus pointed out. "Whatever this Hive is, it's definitely got more power here. The heat doesn't help me any, either…"

Miserable hours were spent trudging through the dunes, though Keras didn't look as though it bothered him. When Jasmine asked, he had replied with a lackadaisical, "Got used to living like this back home."

Oceanus, however, was clearly not enjoying his ordeal any more than Lief, Barda, or Jasmine were. He kept his mouth shut, though, and they traveled on in relative silence.

Until, that is, someone they didn't know tried to break it.

"Never mind the flies, Carn 2! If we don't find the ticks, it'll be our hides in the Shadow Arena," one said, his throaty voice sending panic through Lief's mind. A Guard!

"But what if they've already been taken, Carn 8? We'll have risked our lives for nothing!" said another, and Lief realized with a thrill of terror that the second speaker was also a Grey Guard.

"Hide, quickly!" Keras hissed, and when they didn't move fast enough, adding, "Oceanus and I will try to make them think we've disappeared, but you need to not be seen for it to work!"

With that, Keras grabbed his friend by his cloak and the two of them disappeared over the other side of the dune, for some reason leaving no trace of their passage.

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine used the step-into-your-own-tracks tactic that Lief himself had invented, and the three of them huddled together in the shadow of the dune. They waited there, still as stones, for the Guards to pass them.

As the two lumbering brutes stumbled to the end of the tracks, Lief saw them tense.

"They have been taken!" Carn 2 shouted, "We went out here for nothing!"

The other Gray Guard snarled, "Fool! They could have buried themselves."

For a moment, Lief was worried that they could have found Oceanus and Keras, but that idea was replaced by something far, far worse. As soon as the Guards bent to scoop sand out of the way, the side of the dune exploded in a spray of sand.

Out of the falling debris, a monster loomed.

Lief doubted he would ever see something so fearful again in all his life. The huge creature had eight spidery legs and two horrible blades for independent limbs. Its head was like an insect's, but its mouth was a mess of mandibles and fangs longer than his arm. The entire creature was covered in thick black armor, and a dozen swollen, pulsating sacs hung from beneath its abdomen.

The beast regarded its screaming catch with all the mercy and curiosity of an executioner, before leaning in and ending their existence in a single bite.

Lief turned away, unable to watch, as it began to devour its prey.

* * *

The next thing he could really remember was wandering alone in the desert. He did not know how he had come to this. In one hand was Jasmine's wooden bird, a poor trophy from a gambling game in Rithmere. In the other was the useless tangle of rope that had once bound him to his companions, back where it was safe, back where he knew he could rest.

But now he was finished.

Lief's mind was an empty, exhausted haze as he slid to his knees, not really understanding much besides the fact that his vision had indeed come true. In the corners of his mind, he could still hear Oceanus's mild voice advising him…

With that thought burning clearly in his mind, Lief sluggishly ran his fingers along the belt until they touched the topaz.

As soon as the clarity came, Lief realized several things at once.

One: He was up to his waist in the red sand, which he could now see for what it was – the bodies of thousands upon thousands of tiny insect-like creatures.

Two: His footprints trailed off into the distance, though he would probably be able to follow them for some ways.

Three: Kree was flying overhead, screeching a warning.

Four: The dune he was lying on was…moving.

As soon as he recognized the last thought as a danger sign, Lief stumbled free of the sand and made it a few feet beyond the creature's striking range. The creature that had been stalking him – yet another, larger, Sand Beast.

Even as he staggered with the force of the overturned sand crashing down, Lief backed as far away from the monster as he could, as fast as he could. He would reflect, later, that that was probably the smartest decision he'd ever made.

For even as he hit the next dune, he saw Keras's outline dive into the fray, weaving in and out of the beast's legs. Oceanus appeared a moment later, throwing lightning from both hands. It took only a second before Barda took up the blisters they had recovered from the slain Guards, hurling one with perfect accuracy at the monster, just as Keras leapt free again.

The beast staggered off, wounded but not fatally, leaving Lief to explain how he had come to be in his situation.

Listening to barely half the conversation, Oceanus put in, "Well, you followed my suggestion."

Of course, that led to yet more explanations. All it really did was kill time.

Finally, Jasmine grew impatient, as she always did, "Let us continue speaking in another place. The beast is not dead, only injured."

That thought was enough to give their bodies enough energy to leave the accursed dunes and stumble into yet another, unknown place.

* * *

They had just reached the cone of the Hive, and Lief already knew that this was not going to be easy. Even as he recalled the advice of the old woman, Queen Bee, he felt as though there was too much placed on his already-worn shoulders.

Keras, however, just grinned like he always did and said, "We'll make sure we hang onto you this time, okay?"

In that small speech, Lief realized that everyone did depend on him, but were perfectly willing to help. Lief smiled tiredly back at them, and readied himself for the last chapter in the hunt for this particular gem.

Lief described the Hive only after they had left the Sands and were standing on the 'rocky wall'. Jasmine noticed Barda's eyes darken, and Oceanus made a small noise that sounded like a whistle. Keras looked disturbed, but not really surprised.

Keras departed soon after, taking her suspicions with him. As soon as he left, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since she had hit him outside the lobby of the Champion Inn, she had suspected something was amiss. Even his interactions with Oceanus seemed odd, though the mage seemed to think nothing of it.

Jasmine pressed her lips together after her last, insistent claim about the journey faded, and relished the fact that now it was just her, Oceanus, Lief, and Barda. Five made a crowd, as for as she was concerned.

* * *

TBC

A/N: Happy with the new guy? Keras was named after something very important in the _Deltora Quest_ series, from the _Shadowlands_ in particular. I think it's blatantly obvious, honestly.

Guess what? My writing music was the theme to the Deltora Quest _anime_! You can't imagine how much time I spent going "OMG, they actually did something with this series!" inside my head. It was funny.

I've watched the first four episodes. In the fourth, Lief has to sing the rhyme with Thaegan's children, and his voice actor is almost as bad as the golden giant's. I mean, he's just talking in a really stupid tone. Oh, and Lief's blonde in the anime. I instantly thought 'dumb blonde' when I noticed that, and I'm sorry to say that it seems correct in some instances (who told him to _sing_ the stupid rhyme, anyway?).

Barda's about right, Jasmine's okay, but too bubbly (think _Sailor Moon_), and Lief has a really freaky laugh. Kree's a bird, so I doubt they could have gone wrong, and Filli doesn't even have _legs_.

Other than that, it's all good.

Later,

Lang


	6. First Blood

Chapter Six: First Blood

I'm not going to say I'm bowled over by the response to this story, but I really appreciate everyone telling me what they think about this (even if it's sometimes just begging for updates).

No new (non-canon) characters in this one, but I think there's enough character development to choke on.

* * *

Dear Journal, 

Well, this is the first time in a while I've been able to write. Apparently, Keras (the idiot) hit me hard enough to knock me senseless for quite a while. Well, I've been back on my feet for a day, and I can honestly say I think I like where we're going.

Technically, Dread Mountain isn't a desired vacation spot for anyone who's not a Dread Gnome, but I think the prospect of not seeing hideously flat ground for a few days will be a relief, even if I'm not going to change shape to enjoy it. There's too much at stake, and I've refused to tell as much about myself as Jasmine would like, I suspect.

For future reference, Jasmine does, in fact, think I'm some sort of Shadow Lord creature. I guess I can understand her reasoning, even if I am a little offended. After all, what flunky of the Almighty-Dark-Ghost-thingy would bother watching their backs as many times as I have? There is a little wounded pride, too – I've never been thought of as a common monster before. I think some of that distrust has rubbed off on Keras, too, and he wasn't even around for all that long.

Lief…well, I suppose he doesn't think any worse of me than he did originally. I think my outburst back before the City of the Rats must have struck him as unusually immature, considering that I'm supposed to be sixteen. I can't imagine any other event with any sort of impact, beyond how I saved him from going a very long way down a very steep drop at the Golden Bird's bridge. Now he looks at me like I'm some sort of evil sorcerer-turned-good. He does sort of trust me, but mostly not.

I think the only one out of my current group of companions that I can't read is Barda. He's significantly more mature than I make myself out to be, and that alone puts a very large hole into the idea that I know him. He doesn't talk about much that doesn't have to do with our (or their) goal, and I can't say I blame him. I learned from Lief that his mother died trying to warn everyone of the betrayal afoot in the castle, and I don't really think I can blame him for being unusually aloof.

I don't know why, but that reminds me of something my mother told me once, and I just can't seem to grasp it. Maybe as time goes on I'll find the answer. That's really what we're all looking for, anyway.

The answer to our problems is close in coming – only three gems left to go.

- Oceanus

* * *

To say that Lief despised the long walk from the Shifting Sands to Dread Mountains was a severe understatement. None of his companions talked much, and he couldn't honestly say he was surprised. 

Before they left the Sands, Lief saw Jasmine give Keras's retreating back a very suspicious look, and knew that Oceanus had seen it, too. However, the mage had decided to confront her about it, and the results hadn't been at all pretty.

"What was that for?" Oceanus had snarled, sounding more like a beast than a person. Later, Lief learned that Oceanus was very protective of anyone he got attached to, even if he was a bit hard on them sometimes. Apparently, he included the three of them on that list.

"What do you think I was doing?" Jasmine had snapped back, rather than answer. Jasmine and Oceanus had similar tempers, but Oceanus was more of the 'hold-until-you-explode' type. He could say nothing for several days until it just grew too tiresome to keep it all inside. Jasmine's anger was as easy to trigger as a mousetrap.

It had degenerated into immature name-calling after about five minutes. Lief and Barda simply watched the exchange as Oceanus continued to accuse Jasmine of thinking ill of both him and Keras. Jasmine had simply spoken her mind, and in the end both were in very bad moods.

It had been a week, and Oceanus still refused to speak to her.

Amazingly, Jasmine was really getting worried. Perhaps she'd never heard of the concept of pride, because she kept asking either Lief or Barda why Oceanus had so far declined to even give her a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer.

"Jasmine," Lief finally said, growing rather tired of her constant questions (He still considered them friends, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to get exasperated), "Perhaps you should apologize to him."

Predictably, she blew up in his face like some of the newer weapons the Gray Guards were using.

"_Apologize_? For what?" she demanded, standing straight up and on her tip-toes so she could look him in the eye. "For saying what I think about his sand-born tick of a friend?"

Barda, surprisingly, stepped in. "Jasmine, it is not–"

He was cut off as Oceanus let out an extremely exaggerated yawn. All three of them looked at him.

One eyebrow went up, and both eyelids half-closed. He looked more bored than anything. "Sowing seeds of discord and chaos is not in my job description. I'd rather not see it right in front of me, thank you very much." The words were spoken in such a scornful drawl that Jasmine looked like she was going to explode again.

Barda, as if finally reaching the end of his temper, growled, "We can continue this talk in another place, when we are not so weary."

Two pairs of green eyes snapped towards him, and he met Jasmine's fury squarely.

"This is not the time." Barda repeated.

This time, there was no argument.

* * *

A day or two later, and Lief was really starting to feel like they weren't getting anywhere. The landscape hadn't changed at all – there wasn't even a stream to break the endless brown plains. 

And we need one, Lief thought despairingly. The group's water bottles were as good as empty. When they had had a hurried affair of purchasing travelers' items from Mother Brightly, they had somehow neglected the ever-important issue of their water supply. After the Shifting Sands, they had been existing on a few mouthfuls of water a day (or less, as Lief hadn't seen Oceanus take out his water bottle since yesterday).

To make matters worse, Dread Mountain didn't look one whit closer.

That was when their savior, a tiny blackbird named Kree, swooped out of the sky and landed on Jasmine's arm, squawking happily. Jasmine cocked her head to listen, when was grinning.

"Kree sees water. It is a spring perhaps, for he could see no stream leading to it," she declared joyfully. Lief noticed that even Oceanus had brightened at the prospect.

That brought to mind another idea. Oceanus was almost never cheerful. Why was that? And he had also told Keras, in his customary drawl, that there were people who hated him more than should have been possible. Could that…

Filli and Kree had meanwhile confirmed that the spring was not poisoned, despite their fears. Oceanus's face had settled back into the porcelain mask, and so did the veil over his thoughts.

Lief reserved that thought for later, and concentrated on how the water of the Dreaming Spring _didn't_ remind him of the old pump at the forge.

* * *

When Oceanus woke up the next morning, he felt as if something very heavy had landed on his chest. It was harder to breathe. 

_Not surprising_, he thought darkly. _There is no way that a dream that real was normal_.

Reviewing the sequence in his head, he sighed.

He had been in a wooded area somewhere, near a thick, garbage-cluttered river. The woods were darker than pitch, and for some reason he couldn't see through the gloom. Rain came down in buckets as the river swelled and burst its banks.

"Very nasty weather," a voice he recognized said softly. Oceanus, in his dream, had spun around to meet someone very familiar face-to-face.

It was Alana.

Truly, it was his childhood friend who had only just come of age. Her golden hair hung dripping along her coat, whose hood she had not bothered to raise. Alana's amber-colored eyes searched the dreary sky listlessly, looking terribly depressed.

"The River Tor is a lousy way to travel." Alana added to herself, seemingly staring right through him.

"Alana? Alana, what's wrong?" Oceanus half-shouted, waving his hands frantically to try and get her attention. For a moment, something in her tired eyes seemed to flicker, but it was gone almost as soon as it had come.

She shook her sodden head, not bothering to brush away the strands of her hair that stuck to her face. "I'm dreaming. I almost heard his voice…"

For a full minute, Oceanus panicked. "Alana! Alana, you'll be all right! I'm here!"

Then it had ended as soon as it had come.

Shuddering, Oceanus turned his head to relieve the pressure in his neck and saw Lief stir, almost as suddenly as he had. He sat bolt upright, breathing hard and blinking rapidly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Oceanus asked mildly, trying to keep his composure.

Lief gave him a sharp look. "You were awake?"

Oceanus shook his head, rolling up his blanket and tucking it back inside his bag. "I actually woke up just a little before you did. No big deal."

Lief narrowed his blue eyes slightly, but relented. He also ignored Oceanus's earlier question. "I must ask you something very important."

"Go on," the mage prompted, finished packing and leaning against his bag. He looked so patient that Lief was almost tempted to test it – he decided against it in favor of self-preservation.

"Why do you never smile?" Lief inquired, eyes locked on Oceanus's.

Oceanus raised an eyebrow, "But I do smile."

Lief shook his head, holding up a hand. "You do not truly seem happy, and never have since I have known you. Is something the matter?" Lief waited calmly for the response while the mage seemed to debate with himself. Then, the other boy sighed.

"Lief, in ancient days, Deltorans weren't called that, you know?" Lief nodded. Oceanus went on, "While they were divided into seven tribes, they all disliked each other. It's very similar with members of my people today."

Lief blinked. "Is there no sense of unity where you come from? It would seem to me that your home would fall apart when no person feels any comradeship."

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Oceanus mused. "My people are from an ancient line. Eons ago, we separated into two distinct branches. Then we separated again into ten. Each of the ten branches won't be able to accept any people from the others. As a result, we kill each other over food, land, rights to marriage, and treasure.

"That's not the worst, though. While those groups despise one another, a cross between two branches is regarded the same way a noble would think of the lowest commoner. Bad blood," Oceanus spat. "Half-bloods are known as the lowest of the low, and the only reason I haven't been picked off by the purebreds is because my parents are two of the most powerful people in their societies. Alana, another friend of mine, is a cross between one of the branches and a person from another land. She is thought of as scum, as Keras and I are. Keras is worse off – his mother was a half-blood, his father pure.

"People like me know that we'll never get anywhere. Everyone else will beat us back into the ground," Oceanus hissed, his eyes narrowed in silent fury at the injustice of it all. "We do our best, even if we fail because we're just half-bloods. Half-bloods can't get on the Council, either – Keras's mother is powerful enough to oust the current brass leader, but she would be killed if she ever tried. The best we can possibly do is play messenger. We're the only ones worthless enough to send to another land with little chance of return – they'd never take that chance with a pureblood."

Lief felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. It twisted into a cold, hard knot as he suddenly remembered all the times Oceanus wouldn't speak, as if he knew that any suggestions he ever made would never be followed. Lief knew now that whatever hope Oceanus should have had had been crushed out of him when he was probably very small. And yet, he knew no amount of sympathy could possibly change that.

Still, he had to try.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, wringing his hands nervously. He had no idea how Oceanus would respond to pity.

Surprisingly, the mage took it in stride. "You can't change what people like mine think. You just have to wait until they die and take their hatred with them," he said evenly, eying his boots as though he thought that wearing them wasn't really necessary. Shrugging to himself, he smiled slightly at Lief. "I can't change it, but I can do my best under those limits."

Lief suddenly felt very thirsty, and moved away. The spring was much calmer and less unpredictable than his friends were.

As he approached the water's edge, Lief reflected on his journey. He had been barely competent when he had begun his quest with Barda. He had been admittedly useless at first – barely competent with a sword, his first fight was almost his last. He had met Oceanus first outside the Forests of Silence, and were it not for the mage's foresight to follow, Jasmine would have been unlikely to be able to rescue them in time.

In fact, on that note it was a little odd that Jasmine couldn't trust him or Keras. When he'd asked about it, she'd given him a funny look and asked if he was blind. Then she promptly launched into a rant (at the top of her voice) about how humans did not have green hair, and how they did not get gray hairs until very old, how there was no way in the world for him to change hair colors within the time they hadn't seen him, and how his eyes did something funny every time it was dark.

When he'd asked what, her answer was that they glowed. As in, you could see two little spots of light when the sun went down, neither of which was a star.

Well, Lief had always known that Oceanus was strange. All that did was confirm the notion that he was a foreigner. As soon as he'd said that to Jasmine, however, she'd stomped off in a huff.

There was a lapping noise that startled Lief out of his thoughts. Quickly ducking behind the nearest of the eerie trees, he noticed a large, round animal drinking.

It was indeed very round, with delicate front legs and thicker rear ones. It was a warm sort of chestnut brown, and the skin on its back was strangely patterned. A small, pink tongue lapped up the water, and Lief had the strangest feeling that he knew exactly what this creature was.

Then, as he was about to edge over for a closer look, the creature looked up and their eyes met.

_What is it?_

* * *

Some time later, Oceanus was almost proud to say that Lief was a comrade (not a friend, heaven forbid). In the span of a few minutes, he had gotten to know the youngest of the Kin, evaded death via Gray Guards, and gotten the four into the good graces of the rest of the amazing flying creatures. 

Though, that wasn't to say that Oceanus was only looking at things objectively. He personally liked how the Kin seemed to give off a feeling of peace, and honestly felt that they would be great allies in the future. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Oceanus admitted to himself that he would have preferred a conference later in the day. He wasn't really a morning person.

Though Prin, the Kin that Lief had made friends with, was forced to climb into her mother's pouch to be scolded, Oceanus couldn't really feel sorry for her. He knew that if she had been punished similarly and still not corrected whatever behavior her mother wanted her to, she never would. His point was proven when she complained all throughout the conversation.

Prin, mumbling as she did during the conversation, did tell them something of note. The Dreaming Spring's waters were special in that if anyone evil drank from them, they'd turn into trees just like the Gray Guards had. Oceanus made sure to fill his canteen after hearing that.

Through an outburst by Lief, Oceanus also found that the Kin originally lived on Dread Mountain, their destination. Whether that was a good or a bad thing, Oceanus couldn't comprehend.

Eventually, it also came up that any dream that result from Dreaming water was more than just that – when you dreamed with the water, whatever you saw was a vision of another place, and was real.

While Jasmine and Barda seemed to have good news, Lief was devastated, and Oceanus was confused. He knew that Keras had followed him to Deltora for some reason. He already had a friend here, so why would Alana think she was needed more urgently here than at home?

Before Lief finally got to explaining his dream to them, Oceanus thought he'd seen the other boy in his most desperate mood. He was dead wrong. Oceanus almost panicked when Lief said he had to go back to rescue his parents – there was no way Lief could be allowed to head into what was probably a trap. After they managed to make him see reason, Barda was very certain that the only thing that would help the situation was to complete the quest with all speed.

"I do not see how we can go any faster than we have been," Jasmine had put in.

Barda, however, smiled into his beard, "Maybe not on foot, but how fast would we be if we could fly?"

* * *

As Barda argued down the Kin's leader, Crenn, he essentially left Lief, Jasmine, and Oceanus to entertain themselves. That meant that, in the absence of Prin and her childishness, they were bored out of their minds. 

It was a teenager thing.

When Barda finally convinced the Kin that his idea was sound, it turned out that there was another problem. Namely, the fact that only _three_ Kin had agreed to make the flight. There were four adventurers.

Oceanus was odd man out – the largest Kin, Merin, could carry Barda, but the others couldn't. Lief was heavy enough that Bruna couldn't bear his weight, but Ailsa could. Oceanus was lighter than Lief, but still too heavy for Bruna's pouch. As the others debated between themselves about the new problem, Oceanus shrugged and walked up to meet Merin face-to-face.

"How fast can you fly?" he asked, mentally calculating the speed of his fastest transformation.

Merin smiled in that motherly way of hers (which made Oceanus uncomfortable) and said, "We can keep pace with the fastest fowl in the sky. Why do you ask?"

Making a valiant attempt to smile, Oceanus just said, "I think that the problem is solved."

Without preamble, Oceanus related his plan to Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. Though Lief was surprised, Barda amused, and Jasmine suspicious, they agreed with him on the sensibility of it – they didn't want to stick around and have to argue yet another Kin around to their side.

As the others ended up terrified during the Kin's leap off the cliff, Oceanus was right beside them – as a wild goose. Admittedly, it was a silly shape to take for an 'all-powerful mage', it suited the purpose of anonymity quite well. Out of the corner of his eye, Oceanus thought he saw a fourth Kin take off after them, but dismissed the notion as foolishness, not knowing how that would come back to bite him later on.

* * *

Kinrest, as far as Oceanus was concerned, was almost completely dull. Yes, the place did have a grave marker for a murdered man, but Oceanus wasn't particularly interested in the find that angered his companions. He was much more preoccupied with a fairly uninteresting rock. 

A fairly uninteresting rock with wings and the same brown fuzz as a Kin, to be exact.

While his companions settled down for the night, Oceanus stayed as a goose and tucked his head under his wing. As far as he was concerned, Prin had made her own decision, and she'd have to deal with the consequences.

* * *

For some reason, the Kin actually flew faster the next day, forcing Oceanus to change shape to a hawk – in order to keep pace, he needed to drift from thermal to thermal and the goose form was unsuited for that sort of thing. 

As the Mountain loomed into sight, Oceanus made a point of soaring higher on his chosen thermal, turning around to survey the area below him. As he expected, a smallish brown spot was tagging along after them. She was just far enough away not to be noticed by the older Kin or his comrades, but Oceanus's advanced sight caught Prin in the act of following them to Dread Mountain.

She had no idea what kind of danger she was putting herself in. If the Gnomes used poison on their arrows like the Kin had said, and still searched the skies for Kin, like they feared, then Prin would be dead before she even got to eat any Boolong cones.

As if on cue, Ailsa called out that they were approaching the danger zone. While Oceanus had no idea what she was planning on doing, he did know that if the Kin would fear the Gnomes at this height, the inhabitants of Dread Mountain must have been very good shots.

The Kin sped into a cloud, and Oceanus followed at top speed. There was a good chance that this cloud could be made to extend much higher than it did, but only if Oceanus broke form and used magic – a bad idea when one is hundreds of feet in the air.

When they emerged a few moments later, Oceanus was surprised to find that the first thing the Kin did was start flying irregularly. In his opinion, it resembled the actions of a drunken pigeon. The constant swerving, ducking, swooping and jerking seemed to serve no purpose, but as soon as a poison-tipped arrow clipped his secondary feathers, Oceanus stopped worrying about it and flapped furiously to gain even more altitude.

The Kin soon passed the dangerous area that was in the Gnome's shooting range and made a crash-landing in the spiny Boolong trees, but that left Oceanus and the yet-unnoticed Prin still in the air.

Oceanus was quick to remedy this. He tucked his broad wings close, and dropped. In his hunting dive, many of the Gnome's arrows seemed to miss him by a hair. The only problem was regulating the speed and destination – he had no experience in a hawk's body and was probably better off not experimenting at a crucial moment. Of course, it was better late than never to find one's limits.

When he was almost even with the crash site, Oceanus spread his brown wings again and glided over to his companions, who were crouched in the wreckage of the thorn trees. Even as he touched down, the needles pierced his scaly feet and he hopped back into the air, stunned by the ridiculously sharp thorns.

So he landed on Lief's shoulder and opted to stay there until the boy moved to a more pleasant part of the woods.

"Is there a reason for this?" Lief asked him. Oceanus responded by lifting a bloodied set of talons. The Boolong thorns were lodged in his feet.

Lief shook his head at his companion's lack of pain tolerance. Then he, Barda, and Jasmine waved as the Kin flew off, their pouches now stuffed with Boolong cones and leaves. Oceanus gave a hawk screech instead (and made Lief wince in the process).

As they were deciding on how to get to the Dread Gnome's stronghold, Oceanus shot down the suggestion of burning their way up without changing back into a human, adding support to Jasmine's argument. From his perch on Lief's shoulder, he also made a very irritating alarm bell, for he had seen the struggling Prin long before his companions, and long before the Gnomes shot her down.

He hopped off of Lief as soon as the boy began running towards the fallen Kin, and had become human again by the time they reached her. Giving her some of the Nectar of Life was a good plan, and Oceanus silently applauded Jasmine's quick thinking, since he had an idea of just how fast the poison worked.

While Prin was revived and the impending storm wasn't yet upon them, Oceanus had a sinking feeling and it wasn't going away fast enough, in his mind.

* * *

Much later, Jasmine was on watch duty as her four friends slept. Kree and Filli were with her, so she had no trouble staying awake and was not lonely, but she couldn't help reviewing the events of today in her head. As she watched the rain that was coming down in sheets, she focused on the battle with the Vraal. 

Prin had been devouring Boolong cones at a pace to rival Ailsa, Merin, and Bruna, when she had heard a sound like thunder coming from downstream. That alone proved that it was not a flood, and the storm itself was still far off. Oceanus noticed the racket almost as soon as she had, and had his dagger in an instant. Though the reaction of Barda was slow, Lief's shouted warning was enough to snap Prin out of her fear and urged her to fly away.

Then the beast had appeared.

It had been more hideous than even the worst horror the Forests could muster – six feet tall, with a man's torso, a lizard's spiked tail, and a head like a rotting fruit that routinely exploded. Every inch of it was covered in leaf-green scales, and some glowed a sickly yellow when it roared. Its fingers were tipped in foot-long claws of steel, and its legs ended in cloven hooves that were almost too small for it. The Vraal was more than a monster – it was a killing machine.

"What kind of freak is this thing?" Oceanus had demanded loudly, lightning cracking in his palm. He had put away his dagger, recognizing that the creature, if it got close enough for such a weapon to be useful, would have already ripped him open.

Prin had screamed, "A Vraal!" in such terror that her voice had cracked. She was farther away from the monster than any of the others, so she would be safer. The same could not be said of Barda, who was just close enough to use the blisters he had. That was a much smaller gap than the one between the Vraal and the little Kin.

When Barda threw the blister and it missed, Jasmine knew they were in trouble. Unlike Barda, she saw that his aim had been dead accurate – the Vraal had dodged at the last possible second. With that in mind, she had decided to move to the side and hit it that way with _her_ supply of blisters.

Only that didn't go as planned.

As soon as she was almost in position, the spiny tail of the Vraal came lashing out of nowhere and struck her. It was only a glancing blow, but the blades made her stronger (throwing) arm useless. A second blow could spell disaster.

Lief's arm was torn open, but was only injured enough to prevent him from holding his sword. Barda had still been fighting the Vraal, but was losing. With Barda fighting the beast directly, Oceanus couldn't attack without hitting him.

However, as soon as Barda's sword was knocked out of his hand, with him staggering back from the force of the Vraal's blow, a blast of lightning hit the monster directly in the chest. It was quickly followed by a gust of chilling, icy wind that froze the newly-falling rain where it was.

Then little Prin, who had been gathering something by the stream, had spread her wings and landed squarely behind the Vraal's ugly head. Something purple was on her paws, and she had jammed them, purple and all, into the Vraal's ears and smothered its glowing eyes with the stuff.

The effect had been instantaneous. The Vraal was shrieking in rage and pain, then turned and ran out of the clearing while clawing at its burning eyes.

Though the crisis was now over, Jasmine was still nervous.

Oceanus didn't know that she was constantly weighing what he said and did against her suspicions. Everything he had done was either good for their cause or just him venting whatever he thought on them. So far, her suspicions didn't have any sort of basis in fact, since his actions had so far proved redeeming, not incriminating. All she had against him was his strangeness.

Maybe that wasn't really a reason to distrust him or Keras. Oceanus's eyes glowed in the dark sometimes, and Jasmine was beginning to think that Keras's did the same thing. Keras had shown incredible immaturity when he exploded at Lief for questioning him, and there hadn't been any explanation for it. Oceanus would just shut down and stop responding for no reason. If that didn't make the two of them weird, she didn't know what did.

* * *

Trekking up Dread Mountain was actually easier than Barda expected. It was everything else that was difficult. 

Prin easily devoured the thorny leaves that barred their path, and Oceanus froze the more difficult trees solid so they could be broken down (though the companions often had to take cover afterwards, as the flash-frozen trees tended to explode). With the shields made of Boolong bark, which had been stolen from a gnome-rest at his suggestion, progress was made.

But when they came upon the gnomes' trick door, Barda would have been the first to admit that he was stumped. The rock was too dark to see the pattern carved into it, and by the looks that had crossed his companion's faces, they didn't know chat it said or how to make the images visible.

Lief did figure that part out, and the part about the steel-covered pit, but bad went to worse when all five of them were trapped in a tiny, airless cell. Though, they got out of that, too. That had been Barda's idea – smashing the one-way mirror and finding themselves in one of the fly-breeding caves.

Jasmine had quickly been cured with the Nectar of Life when the Dread Gnomes shot her with their many poisoned arrows, and that alone had gotten Gla-Thon and Fa-Glin on their side rather quickly. Ri-Nan, however, was still suspicious and Barda found Oceanus glaring at the red-bearded gnome when he though no one was looking. The former palace guard could only wonder if the mage would keep his temper in check if Ri-Nan was faithless and deceiving.

Now all they had to do was face the toad Gellick directly.

Prin was to stay behind with Kree and Filli, and she was ordered to flee if none of them returned alive – this was sensible, for the Dread Gnomes still prized Kin skin as clothing material, and probably would not object to eating blackbird or whatever creature Filli's kind were known as.

It was true that Barda had planned to use the blisters to kill Gellick, as Lief and Jasmine had. However, Oceanus had taken one look at the poison and declined.

Barda was confused, "This would be the best plan, would it not? We can kill the monster in its sleep, so it will never wake to cause terror again."

"I know what Gray Guards' poison does to its victims," Oceanus replied slowly, making sure not to be heard by Ri-Nan. "If toad poison was what they used on Jasmine, is it a coincidence that the effects are so similar?"

Barda dismissed the notion, as he often did. "Most likely. There are many venoms in the world, so who is to say that some do not have similar effects?"

"You'll see." Oceanus walked faster and was soon too far away to politely converse with without yelling.

The treasure cave was vast. Glittering piles of gems, coins, and other valuables covered the cavern from floor to ceiling, and torches along the walls. It would be a beautiful display of wealth if not for the massive slimy toad that had taken a nap on one of the largest mounds.

Oceanus let out a hiss much like a cat's, then gathered an orb of cold magic in his sword arm. It was clear that he thought even less of Gellick than the Dread Gnomes did. Even though it was clear that Oceanus was ready to freeze the ugly beast solid, Barda and Lief placed the fragile blisters in their slings.

That was when Ri-Nan showed his true colors. "Great Gellick! Beware!" The gnome never put the rest of his message to words.

As soon as he'd made his first noise, he was doomed. Oceanus spun on his heel, eyes narrowed in silent fury, and directed his frost magic at the gnome instead. A chilling wind, complete with hail and snow, blew around the red-bearded gnome, and suddenly there was only an ice statue left.

But his shout had done what it was meant to do. The toad's vast gold eyes opened, and suddenly its malice filled the air like its croaking laughter. A blister burst on its chest, then a second.

"Who are you fools who attack me with my own poison?" Gellick asked in a rasping croak. In that instant, Barda knew that Oceanus had been right – there was no such thing as coincidence in their quest. Everything, right down to the minor details, seemed connected to something else. Even something as familiar as a Gray Guard's blister was one and the same to a faraway toad monster's venom.

It laughed again, and this time Barda was more cautious.

The companions knew better than to face it directly – as it broke into a surprised rant at the sight of strangers in its domain, the four of them disappeared under the layers of gold and jewels. Ri-Nan and Fa-Glin had apparently done the same, as the beast had not yet gloated about killing them. Nor could Barda hear telltale screams – he knew from the Dreaming Water that the toad's venom acted quickly and painfully.

He knew as well that Lief was closer to the toad than he was. Oceanus was who-knew-where, and Jasmine was less than six feet away.

As they waited for the toad's wrath to come down upon them, there was a noise that sounded like a great beast clearing its throat, then a shrill scream. Rising to the surface of the treasure mound, Barda was as stunned as the Dread Gnomes and Jasmine were as he saw the loathsome toad stretch up…up…and turn into the same sort of tree as those by the Dreaming Spring.

The same as Carn 4 and Carn 5 had.

Astounded, he looked at Lief, who had thrown his water bottle into the back of the toad's vile throat, and had the Dreaming Spring's water do the rest. Oceanus was smirking, giving the other boy a knowing look from the top of a different treasure mound, where he sat like a king.

"Well, that was quite the comeback, wasn't it?" he called, sliding down the pile to join the gnomes where they were emerging from their hiding places.

* * *

Sitting in the Gnome's treasure cavern, after the death of the monstrous toad, was rather trying for Oceanus. He was uncomfortable around so many people who had recently been mortal enemies. As the gnomes and his companions feasted, Oceanus picked at his food and kept glancing at Prin. What would happen to her once they left? She was irritating, true, but she was still a youngster and could learn. The gnomes had not learned to let go of their emnity for the peaceful Kin; their Kin skin jackets and blankets were proof enough of that. He even remembered reading in a scoll of Deltora's history that the Dread Gnomes would sometimes use the Kin as Vraal bait.

Oceanus did not trust without reason. He knew that the others had already realized the value of the gnome's trust, but Oceanus's seemed to still be low on the list. They did what they could, not trusting the century of experience he'd had to sift through the pretty words and find facts. It seemed like no matter how many times they made preventable mistakes, they would never ask him for advice.

Were they designed to be stupid or something?

Oceanus did not know, however, that his companions were arguing over that very topic.

"What do you mean, Jasmine? He has been nothing but helpful to us!" Lief demanded, keeping his voice low enough not to be overheard by the mage in question.

Jasmine was angry - she wholeheartedly disliked the green-eyed mage, never mind the fact that any advice he'd ever given turned out to be very accurate. "Can you not see? He is an outsider - prove that any foreigner in Deltora has been a good person! Every last one in recent years is the Shadow Lord's servant."

Barda shook his head. "Jasmine, you are not being fair. Perhaps one in every thousand non-Deltorans has been loyal. Still, will you hate them all, though there are some who are truly innocent?"

Jasmine withdrew, perhaps aware of the fact that nothing she could say would be more reasoned than that. Her distrust of the mage seemed to be mutual, at least, Lief thought. He had never seen her snap at or keep a secret from him without Oceanus repeating the deed. Worse, they both confided in Lief, which made him feel torn - he was grateful to Oceanus for his underused, though still brilliant, advice, but he was also starting to feel differently for Jasmine. Lief cared for her, and so did Barda, but it seemed like Lief could not bear to be without her.

How could he possibly live like this?

He was spared any more grim ponderings when an excited-looking gnome burst into the hall, shouting the news of Kin at the top of his lungs. Lief knew instantly that the Kin were coming for Prin, and was horrified when the feast was abandoned in favor of bows and arrows. Prin clutched his waist in terror, and he had to shout to stop the Dread Gnomes from venturing forth to slaughter the rescuing flock.

Oceanus backed him up on this, gently rubbing Prin's quivering head and glaring at the gnomes with a feral look in his eyes. He said nothing, but would probably have supported anything Lief said at that point.

The peace between gnome and Kin was finalized, as were the plans for fooling the Gray Guards. Having gained the friendship of another tribe, Lief smiled and said his goodbyes to the Kin, especially Prin. It was hard, the parting, and even Oceanus seemed depressed.

Lief, however, knew that they had only one chance to defeat the Shadow Lord and free its captives.

He left Dread Mountain with a little golden arrowhead clutched in his hand.

* * *

A/N: Edited.

Jasmine and Oceanus are only just starting to butt heads, and it should be clear who won this round. Hence, first blood. Also, it's the companion's first encounter with what lurks in the Shadowlands.

Next chapter (tentative title): _Exposed, Oceanus's Secret or Not?_


	7. Fixing Burning Bridges

Chapter Seven: Fixing Burned Bridges

A/N: I haven't updated in over a year. I am ashamed of myself now. :(

The three characters narrating this chapter form a 'power trio' much like Lief, Barda, and Jasmine do. They haven't met up in a while, so watch as the reunion clogs up canon so badly you can't see the actual plot. ;) Just kidding. But this is where the plot seriously diverges as Oceanus begins to take an active role. (The overarching plot, not the immediate one)

Ignore last chapter's A/N, please. The plan then got (mostly) aborted. You can still see bits of that plot, though.

* * *

Dear Journal,

Well, I'm officially out of the group. Not really by choice, either. And before anyone says I did something stupid like…oh, I don't know, stab someone, just know that I didn't. Not really.

Maybe.

More accurately, I _got_ stabbed and just blew the attacking idiot's head off. No, not with lightning, either.

The thing is, I an do a lot more than just ice and lightning. I can do things like open a gateway to another place, shrug off strikes that could kill someone weaker, or even fly the whole length of Deltora in a single day. Why don't I do this more often, you ask? It was only to avoid scaring these three idiots that I held back at all. When jumped, though…let's just say the results were messy. It involved a dismemberment spell and my teeth, if that gives you any idea.

It went sort of like this:

We were walking along in this huge forest, like we had been for a week now. I hadn't slept properly in days, and neither had anyone else. We slept in shifts, but no one gets any sleep when you remember that there are pirates and monsters and who knows what else out there. Most of them probably want to kill us, and some would follow that up with eating. The rest? Looting. So, yeah. No one was very happy.

Worse, I could see magic flickering at the edges of my vision _all the time_. I thought about it for a while and eventually decided I'd catch one of those stupid flickering things to get some peace. Curiosity doesn't like to leave me alone.

Yeah. I thought about it. Then I saw one of the flickers. I changed my mind.

Seriously, I saw a _mouse_ turn into what can best be described as a bleached-white, living shadow. It had about as much definition to it as spilled milk.

Then the thing _turned into a water bird_. That crossed the line for me. We'd seen these big white birds - Deltora's equivalent to a swan, I guess - all over the place, even when I couldn't hear a river running anywhere. Yup, we were being stalked. By wraith-creatures that could pull a magic trick and look like damn near everything. That, along with the fact that it gave me the chills, put me off the hunt for a while. I still don't know what the hell that thing was, but whatever it is, I don't want to be anywhere near it.

So, anyway, shortly after seeing that thing for the first time, we were ambushed by bandits dropping out of the trees. Since Jasmine can talk to trees, I don't have any idea how we missed them, but we did. It might have something to do with the fact that she was even more dead on her feet than Lief or Barda.

We ended up fighting. Someone tried grabbing me from behind and putting his sword by the big vein in my neck. I suppose he wanted a hostage to force the other three to stop fighting. As if that would work.

So, my hand moved up and I grabbed his side. One application of a dismemberment curse later, and he didn't have legs. Or ears. Or a nose. I don't know if you've ever had someone scream in your ear, but it's really, really irritating. I guess it must have been bad enough to piss me off beyond all reason - next thing I knew, I'd bitten the man's throat out. I'll be spitting out blood for a while. Ick.

Keras and I are similar in one way - our teeth. He can crack open a Sand Beast (or its Elibe counterpart) without a problem. Me? Clams and other shellfish. So, after that kind of abuse, a human windpipe is _nothing_.

So, after deciding that my conduct crossed the lines of combat, I got kicked out of the "club." Since when does reversing an ambush have _rules_? Guidelines? Man, Deltorans are weird about this sort of thing. I suppose I could have done without the biting part, but why does it matter? He and his friends were planning on killing us and looting our corpses! Bah, this place makes no sense.

I guess mauling some idiot who planned on killing you is against some sort of moral code. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine sure won't get far thinking like _that_.

Well, time to move on. I guess I wasn't as emotionally invested in those idiots as I thought I was. Should I be angry at their decision? Maybe once the general haze of indifference wears off, I will be.

- Oceanus

* * *

Log Book,

Well, look who the cat dragged in.

For the last few weeks or so - since before the last time I met with Oceanus - I've been working with the Resistance, which is composed of Doom and his mismatched buddies. Glock, the hulking brute, is here, too, and he picks a fight with either me or Neridah every day. It's getting annoying. I may have to put him in his grave early before he leaves me alone. As for Neridah…well, I can't say I like her the way she likes me. She's taken to following me around everywhere and I'm thinking of taking on a high-risk mission so if she follows me, I can kill her and say it was an accident.

Yeah, I'll even risk irritating the Council just to get her to go away. I'm not even supposed to be in Deltora, much less killing the natives.

Other than the daily annoyances, though, it's not hard work to pull my weight around here. Like Doom, I can track an Ol by how they behave and I've never found it hard to teach some of the others the basics of sword fighting. Though, considering that there are only a fourth as many swords as people here, I probably should show them knife-fighting techniques instead.

All in all, life's pretty enjoyable, too. Well, except for one thing. Or person.

Dain.

Never liked the brat. Couldn't tell you why, though. Maybe it's the fact that he gives off the same creepy vibe as this one guy I have a problem with back home…

Oh, where was I? Right, back to the new arrivals.

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. Can't say I was happy to see them. Where'd my best friend (who is, incidentally, short enough that they might have lost him in a bush or something) go? And why, oh, _why_ did they bring Dain back instead?

I view Dain the same way that dogs view their stuffed toys. It is not something to be loved - it is something to be chewed on until the fluffy insides are coming out and then thrown away, or occasionally eaten.

They explained that Oceanus had brutally (and fatally) mauled some idiot that had tried to jump him. The words "blood" and "death" and "unnecessary violence" came up several times. Yup, that sounds like him. Oceanus and I are similar in that - excessive violence solves everything! Well, I'm actually worse, considering that "berserker rage" is well, well within my ability…what was I saying again?

Oh, right. Dain's got a broken arm and busted ribs. Big whoop. I can't make myself care at all.

The following conversation took place about a minute after:

Me: "Where'd Oceanus head off to, anyway?"

Jasmine: "He did not say."

Me: "Okay. I didn't figure he would."

Lief: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Well, he's weird. And you kicked him out of your little club. And he's weird." Well, that wasn't exactly true - he was no more untrusting than any other accomplished spy. Maybe less. "So, you've found the Resistance. Now what?"

Well, Doom showed up then and locked them in the Ol-testing room. Anything interesting will happen three days from now.

- Keras

* * *

Log Book,

Well, Doom's going to be rather irritated. Why, you ask?

Dain and I let Lief, Barda, and Jasmine go. Dain left, too, so I'll be the only one to see the show when Doom blows up at someone. I might tell them about it later if they live to meet me again.

It was easy, really. I grew up as a thief - taught Oceanus everything I could think of, too. The people here have about as much experience with locks as the average farmer. Pathetic. And Dain? Turns out his arm wasn't broken. Either that or the Queen Bee honey really is as good as Doom says.

Dain ditched - he's off with the three of them, probably heading for Tora like he always said he wanted to.

And me? I changed my mind after seeing Doom stalk past and give me a death glare. I'm not sticking around to have Doom yell at me. I'll be moving toward the River Tor and follow it as long as I want to. There's no reason for me to rush at all - I have to tools and the skills to survive. And, most importantly, I don't have a legion of Ols out looking for me like Oceanus's old group does.

Well, I think I'll try to get comfortable in this tree for a bit. I'll be on the move a lot for the next few days.

- Keras

* * *

Dear Journal,

I'm still looking for Alana, so not much has changed. I have run into a number of strange characters, but I can ignore most of them easily enough. Pirates are nothing - they were everywhere when I still lived with my parents in coastal Elibe and they're everywhere now. Besides, unlike when I was at home and unlike when I was traveling with Lief, Barda, and Jasmine, I don't need to hold back at all.

It's kind of like when I used to just travel around with Keras and Alana, actually. We did tend to leave a rather high body count in our wake…

Back to the present. I met a merchant named Steven on my way toward the River Tor. I can see _something's_ off about him, but I can't tell what it is. Back home, there isn't a whole lot of variation when it comes to magic. Dark magic, light magic, healing magic, and anima magic are the core group, and that's essentially it. It's a pretty plain place. Well, other than the rainbow of hair and eye colors. I guess Elibe isn't varies enough for that sort of comparison.

I ended up buying a hat (to hide my again-white hair) and a scarf. I still don't know why I got a scarf. I think it's summer here. I also got some other things like Quality Brand honey and random knickknacks. I don't like honey or other sweets, but Alana does so she'll probably appreciate it.

Also met my first (_identified_ Grade One) Ol today, a little before seeing Steven for the first time. I don't know why I didn't mention it before. I guess this lesser ooze-monster wasn't worth my time.

I mentioned it to Steven later and he identified them for me. Thanks, Steven, even if I never actually told you as much. Anyway, the thing to remember about Ols - according to Steven, anyway - is they need to be stabbed through the heart if you want to kill them. When I first saw the creature, I went for its head instead.

Yeah, you aren't supposed to do that, but I think having a rock the size of one's torso land on one's head is overkill. Because it was a monster, though, I added a tree and two more similar-sized rocks. _That_ is overkill.

Ols are supposed to be dangerous, I think. They are not living up to that reputation.

And how did I know it was an Ol? Well, if I look at them out of the corner of my eye, I can see the flickering of its illusion. And then, I look directly at the Ol and concentrate, I can see its true form. If I see another of them tomorrow, the monster in question will be getting a new blowhole.

Well, I'll continue my search tomorrow. Until then!

- Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal,

I haven't written in a week. There's a lot to say.

I found Alana. She's…tired would be putting it lightly. I don't know how long she's been on her own, but she hadn't eaten in a while when I caught up to her. We spent the next two days recovering from all the damage and stress to our bodies we'd picked up. I slept for almost a whole day, Alana tells me.

I told her everything that had happened since I came to Deltora, even using my journal as a reference. I don't think she approved of my actions since coming here, but it's not her call. I was the one who got this stupid mission shoved in my face, not her. She's supposed to be a home, trying to patch up her relationship with her stony-hearted mother.

Did I drag her into this?

Alana says she came because she could. That can't be true. She's not suited for this sort of pre-war reconnaissance. Alana couldn't sneak past a deaf man even if her life depended on it, and she's a bad liar.

She's too nice. Too forgiving. She shouldn't be here.

But I'm sure as hell not going to tell her that to her face.

Alana can be kind and gentle, charitable and all-around sweet. She's like that right up until someone makes the mistake of pissing her off. It seems like that happens to Keras and I more often than not. I think it's because she knows we can take it.

Keras is quick and skilled. I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen. And Alana? She can heal broken bones and can punch through fortified, _reinforced_ stone walls in one shot. So, yeah. Don't make her angry if you want to go home intact.

I think the only reason Keras and I constantly get in trouble with her is because she knows us so well. If she met more people, she'd probably have to pay more healers' fees.

We're not doing very much now. We boarded a boat called _River Queen _without any other passengers waiting with us or for us on it. Good. I just want to sleep off all the crap I've been through for the last few months. Alana's already -

_Damn._

_I'm lying on my side as I write this. I pulled out my pack and set out a blanket for Alana and another for myself. Seems that she didn't think it was needed. Right now, her head is pinning my other elbow to the deck. I can't move without waking her and…_

_Well…this is awkward. I wouldn't have thought she was comfortable enough to - um, I'll finish this tomorrow._

_- Oceanus_

* * *

Dear Diary,

This is the first time I think I've written in one of these. Oceanus recommended it, but I don't really see the point. I observe things differently than he does. I checked his journal - he likes talking down to people and doesn't think of what they're feeling. Maybe that's why he was thrown out of the last Council meeting. Well, other than the fact that he and Keras were blowing spit wads at Terrak.

We're still riding the _River Queen_. We're not alone now, though. Today, a few more people arrived. There is this…um…well, I'll say that she outweighed her scarecrow of a man by quite a bit. She dresses in a particularly nasty shade of pink that I think Mother had banned at Council meetings a few years ago. Oceanus was still asleep when they got on, but now he's glaring at them like they killed his firstborn or something.

There are two men playing cards in the corner now. I think they're playing Skulls and Bones, but I'm not sure. Keras would know - he used to rob gamblers when we were younger, traveling together for safety's sake, and broke. I wonder why they have so many tattoos. I received the initiation marks for a group that uses magic sigils in one's skin for defense and I've still never seen so many needle marks.

The man with the music box is still here, too. I haven't thought much of him, but I suppose the tune helps morale a little. Oceanus said it was irritating trying to sleep while he played that. I don't mind, though - it's easier for me to stuff cloth in my ears, I guess.

Oceanus hasn't actually said much beyond what he was doing over the last few months. I'm worried - he's held in negative emotions before, and it never ends well. The last time involved a bandit leader in the north, three yards of iron chain, a leg of lamb, and a bear cub…well, I won't go into it here. The results were not pleasant.

Since he's sleeping all the time now, though, I can't get him to talk to me. He is a morning person, but that doesn't mean he gets up quickly - it just means he can't stay awake when the sun goes down. Since the sun set a while ago and everyone else seems to be asleep, I think I should be sleeping right now, too.

I can't, for some reason. Maybe it's because Oceanus keeps thrashing -

He just hit me. It's kind of annoying that I can't hit him back since he doesn't know what he's doing. I wonder what he's dreaming about? It must be bad.

- Alana

* * *

Dear Diary,

It seems as though Oceanus knows the girl who came aboard today. She's wearing a lot of purple, such as in the form of her head shawl and the gold-embroidered cloak. It's a little off-putting to see someone her age with enough makeup for three people, too. She has nice black boots, though. Oceanus used to wear a pair like that, though without the heels.

Oceanus hasn't said anything to her. She isn't paying attention to him, either, but I think that's because she doesn't recognize him. He changed his eye and hair color before I woke up, and he's keeping the hat brim pretty low. His scarf is covering the entire lower half of his face. I'd be hard-pressed to recognize him, too, and I've known him since we were both children.

Oceanus says her name is Jasmine. They were traveling together during the time Oceanus has marked out in his diar - um, his journal. According to his early descriptions of her, though, I can't see how she and this purple-wearing lady can be the same person.

I'll figure this out tomorrow. Oceanus is sleeping again, though this time he's leaning on the railing. He doesn't have a blanker and though I know he can't catch cold since he's as good at ice magic as I am with fire, I'm worried since the woodwork looks about as stable as a chair with two legs.

I managed to get him to lie down without waking him. I didn't think it was possible - we've lived on the edge of disaster for so long before this that I thought he'd be permanently jumpy. If he slept like a rock back when we were with Keras, he'd be long dead.

A new mystery. I'll look into it.

- Alana

* * *

Dear Journal,

Alana is apparently watching me while I sleep. I'm stuck between being flattered or being irritated. That's never a good combination.

This won't end well.

- Oceanus

* * *

Dear Journal,

Well, the gang's all here now. Lief, Barda, and some black-haired kid just boarded the _River Queen_. With Jasmine already here, it's time for any evil plans and contrived coincidences (and sufficiently daring escapes that only succeed because the Enemy hires idiots in bulk) to some into play. I wonder how this will turn out?

Well, I hope it turns out well, but there is a ten thousand-to-one chance that we'll actually _not_ have to fight within the next day or two. How do I know this? Because I've been there. Everything goes horribly wrong as soon as things are looking up for this little group.

In that case, neither of the Ols that boarded is getting off this boat alive if we're attacked.

- Oceanus

* * *

Alana was awake long before the pirate ship gently bumped _The River Queen_. Like Oceanus, who hadn't even bothered to sleep in the first place, she could see perfectly in the dark. She saw the tattered sails and the ruffians at every perch, their eyes glittering with greed and murderous intent. She saw the gleaming, badly-made weapons of the crew and the line they were casting out to keep the vessels connected.

Oceanus stood beside her, his temporary disguise gone, both daggers in hand. He crept silently along the half-rotted boards that made up the deck, past the captain's locked-and-barred door, to where his old allies were resting. Alana paid no attention to the pirates for all of an instant, long enough to see her white-haired friend nudge the bearded man he had identified as Barda.

Alana returned her gaze to where the pirates were tentatively began to come toward the helm of their ship, none of them willing to be the first onto this new ship. Or perhaps they saw her through the half-light of the cloud-covered moon and were taking no chances.

Oceanus roused the group quickly, avoiding a sleepy punch from one of the black-haired boys and pressing his sword into his hands. She saw him pause at the second, more delicate-looking of the two boys before growling softly and standing up and pointedly moving away. The girl in purple didn't need his help - she was already on her feet and apparently searching her fancy clothes for her own daggers.

"Ahem." Oceanus said softly. No one else woke. "PIRATE ATTACK! GET UP OR BE WORM FOOD!"

Well, that was one way of putting it.

The pirates predictably charged, shouting since their attempt at stealth had been dealt a mortal blow. One of Oceanus's smaller throwing daggers caught the first across the throat, sending him crashing into the deck. Alana struck the second head-on, launching him twenty feet into the air and back onto his own ship.

Everything became a violent barrage on the senses. The woman in pink was screaming as if she had already been cut down while her man scrambled about the deck, looking for a place to hide. Alana didn't care. She'd fought pirates before - they never left any survivors if they could avoid it. The panicking pair would be dead soon enough if the invaders weren't routed.

"Get us some light, you fools!" cried a voice. Alana supposed it was one of the pirates - the captain was still in his cabin, while his music-player screamed and his polypan (as Oceanus had identified the creature on their first day) babbled incoherently - and acted accordingly. She pointed Oceanus in his direction and forgot about the problem, which shortly wouldn't exist anymore.

Nonetheless, the polypan seemed to abruptly regain some sanity at being ordered and swung around the deck, lighting the lanterns that surrounded it. Alana wasn't surprised to find that both of the card players had been killed quickly. At least they hadn't suffered. She sidestepped a pirate's charge almost lazily as she thought, almost instantly driving her knee up and sideways into his gut, folding him in half. She tossed him over the side as well, not even looking as she sent one of his friends following soon after.

Oceanus twisted as he fell, landing on his back. That left his hands (and the daggers in them) nowhere to go but up into the nearest pirate's upper leg. He leapt to his feet near-instantaneously, sweeping the man's uninjured leg out from under him and catapulting him into the River Tor, before moving on to the next opponent.

Alana noticed the pirates giving both her and Oceanus a wide berth. Clearly, they had paid attention to the pair's crushing attacks and were trying to avoid being singled out as the next man over the railing. The blonde noticed Oceanus's glowing green eyes flicker and saw him aiming at the man fighting Lief. The dagger flew - the man staggered, clutching his impaled hand.

Alana gave a mental shrug and brought the fight to the enemy. The pirates scattered as she opened her mouth and shot a stream of white fire into the middle of their group, screaming about the end of the world and demons running amok.

She then set to work picking them off.

* * *

Lief didn't understand how he had ended up fighting for his life on a boat against a crew of twenty or thirty pirates. He had woken to Kree's cry and then Oceanus shaking him, forcing him up to face the threat. Where had he come from? How hadn't he noticed the mage before?

Thinking too hard in the midst of battle is a form of uninformed suicide. Lief would later remember this statement with some embarrassment. The pirate he was facing off against nearly tore his sword from his hand while he thought. While Lief reeled from the blow, he fully expected to hit the deck in pieces.

A dagger striking the pirate's sword hand made the idea rather…implausible, to say the least. Lief brought the hilt of his sword down on the back of the man's head, sending him to kiss the planks.

"Are you okay?" Oceanus's voice called. Lief couldn't see him past all the pirates - he and Oceanus were both too short to even attempt to look over the lot of them.

"Yes, we are unharmed!" Barda responded, though his voice sounded strained, as though he were gritting his teeth.

Lief noticed that Barda was leaning hard against the railing, which creaked more ominously each passing second, trying to fight two pirates at once. He tried to run over to help him, but someone caught him by the collar and pulled him back, choking him and flinging him into the deck using his own momentum. His head struck something that made a jingling sound and his vision spun.

Just as abruptly, he was hauled back to his feet by his cloak. He coughed and felt as if he was going to be sick - his cloak was knotted around his neck to begin with and his head ached already without more aggravations.

He was sent to the deck again, this time facedown with a man's hand clamped over the back of his neck, long fingers curling around and squeezing his windpipe shut. Panicking, he clawed at his attacker's fingers but he may as well have been scratching wood. He couldn't kick out either - Lief knew that he was doomed when he felt his captor's knee digging into his lower back, pinning him, and a flash of silver. If only he could pry the fingers away from his throat…if only he could breathe…

He twisted, squirmed, did anything he could to get free, only to have a heavy boot kick him in the stomach as he finally managed to turn onto his side, knocking any remaining air out of him. Lief coughed, harder than before, as the tip of a sword was pressed through his shirt. He was sure it was drawing blood, but he didn't care. _Barda! Have to…_

"Not until we've picked you clean, boy!"

"Oh, finish him off, Finn!"

* * *

Barda managed to force the pair of much smaller pirates into the river by redirecting their momentum, letting them run themselves right off the deck as the railing finally gave out. Both fell with startled shrieks.

Near him, Dain finally struck his opponent after several tense minutes of attempts, sticking his short knife into the man's eye. The pirate fell back, screaming, only to be cut down by another pirate. His killer immediately turned and ran.

"Stand and fight, coward!" Barda shouted after him, only to stop abruptly as the other pirate charged into one of the yellow-haired girl's enemies and stabbed him to death as well. Barda wasn't given any time to think about it as he spotted Lief, pinned to the deck by another ruffian. "Lief!"

Barda was not to have a chance to save his companion, however, as three more enemies came onto him at once. "Lief!" he shouted again as he slashed the first pirate's face. But he couldn't see the boy anywhere. Even Dain, fighting so close to him, was faced with two opponents and was far outmatched.

"Lief!"

* * *

Jasmine skirted around the main fighting with a combination of stealth and luck. She had already shed her purple cloak in favor of a coat borrowed from a dead pirate. Only her head scarf and her dangling gold earrings remained of the disguise. The face paint had been rubbed off in her sleep and her parasol was currently floating downstream with any number of pirates.

She used the bow of the _River Queen _as a way around the battle, ducking behind the captain's cabin and hopefully coming out the other side behind an invader. With any luck, she would be able to ambush a few of them before she was forced to retreat. Kree flew low along the water's surface, keeping an eye on everyone that Jasmine couldn't see. Filli was with him, riding in Kree's claws and chattering nervously.

Jasmine was almost to the edge of the cabin and was about to plunge her dagger into the nearest pirate - a redheaded woman almost as tall as Barda - when Kree shrieked.

_Lief is in danger_, Jasmine translated instantly. She quickly retracted her dagger and glanced around.

A little past where the red-haired woman was standing, a man with a grotesque nose and unnaturally sharp teeth held Lief against the deck, leaving him unarmed and in no position to fight back. He was already undoing the knot at Lief's throat that kept his cloak in place as Lief struggled weakly to get free. When he managed to grasp the man's hand, someone else kicked him in the ribs. As Lief recoiled and let out a pained gasp, the group standing around him erupted in raucous laughter.

Jasmine struck.

She stabbed once, driving her dagger hilt-deep into the woman's spine. She pulled back just as quickly, her dagger's blade followed by a gout of blood from the wound and a strangled shriek from the woman. Jasmine kicked the woman's body hard, sending the still-standing corpse spinning into the pirate group, who abruptly stopped laughing.

"Let him up." Jasmine said icily.

The pirate holding Lief down gave a croak that sounded like a laugh, despite his crewmate's lifeblood staining the deck. "Don't think so, little girl."

Jasmine abruptly realized just how much her concern for Lief had blinded her. No matter her choices now, there were still too many pirates for her to fight. Five against one, even with Lief helping her if he could (which was something she considered unlikely)…those were very poor odds.

Before they could turn on her, though, a body crashed into one of them, throwing him off his feet and right over the collapsed railing.

"Wahoo! Two down!" Jasmine looked to her left and spotted a ruffian with his hat pulled low over his eyes and a cloth over his eyes. He dressed as roughly as any of the others, but Jasmine spotted slits in the cloth covering his eyes. His two weapons - a long, curved sword and a much shorter chopping blade - marked him as different, however.

"What are you doing, Slit?" the man with the sharp teeth demanded.

The other pirate stopped. "Huh?" He looked down. "Oh." He pulled his hat off and untied the cloth. "I am no pirate, worthless brigands!" In a moment, the transformation was complete and Jasmine caught sight of the teal eyes that she had never thought she'd never see again.

Indeed, he wasn't a pirate. But he wasn't a whole lot better.

"Keras, quit your grandstanding and just kill them already!" Oceanus snapped from across the deck.

Keras snapped a silly salute, tongue poking out of his mouth. "Yes sir, boss-man-guy."

"Shut up!"

Jasmine watched as Keras's humorous persona fell startlingly quickly. He grinned, but this time it was very unpleasant - his teal eyes glowed and the black-haired girl stood, stunned, as he systematically began to hack away at his opponents.

It was a detached efficiency so at odds with his normal behavior that it made her want to look away, despite her own lack of remorse over killing.

She shoved her feelings aside and dashed across the wooden planks. The pirate with the ugly nose and pointed teeth had already released Lief and left him lying there on the deck, coughing feebly and trying vainly to stand. As the pirate fled, leaving Keras to chase off the other four that remained, Jasmine pulled one of Lief's arms over her shoulders and helped him up. She was barely strong enough - Lief was larger than her and not much help at all with the way his limbs were shaking.

Jasmine settled for pressing her spare dagger into his sword hand and hoping he'd recover in time to help her hold some sort of defense together. His own weapon, by this point, would be useless to him.

Thinking that over, Jasmine retrieved Lief's sword and began using it instead of her crystal-hilt dagger.

"Holy - What the heck is that thing?!" Jasmine heard the blonde shout as she slew the nearest ruffian. She felt a chill coming over her and looked toward the other girl abruptly. There was the Ol, a creature like a flickering white flame with eyes like burning coals and a wide, toothless mouth.

"_OL!_" all of the fighters shrieked, echoing Jasmine's thoughts. She couldn't imagine why -

Oh. Oh, no. Jasmine backed up slightly and hoisted Lief to his feet. The creature, once the woman in bright pink, had seen her helping him. And - suddenly noticing that her purple head scarf had come loose and now was merely tangled in her hair below her shoulders - it had seen _her_.

The pirates fled, leaving their dead where they were, scrambling over one another in an effort to get away. Dain gave a shriek as he was dragged along, making Oceanus jump as if he had forgotten Dain existed and try running after them. The Ol, however, seemed to be in no hurry.

It should have been.

There was a horrendous ripping sound and suddenly the Ol had been literally _splattered_ across the deck. As the creature fell, Jasmine saw Keras standing behind it, his curved sword still extended.

"Well, one down." Keras noted. He held out a hand to her.

Jasmine took it. She was too tired and confused to even think ill of him at the moment.

Splat! And…now the Ol's companion was an interesting, if somewhat disgusting, puddle leaking down through a hole in the deck that hadn't been there before.

"Who…?" Jasmine started to ask, but Keras just shook his head.

"Alana didn't feel like playing nice." he replied, moving over to help Lief up.

The blonde girl had _blown a hole _in the deck?

_Who _are_ these people? _Jasmine thought.

* * *

Log Book,

Yeah, it's still me here. I guess the time a couple days ago when I jumped that one pirate, stole his identity, and left him to be eaten by river worms really paid off. Surprising, no? I was just planning on hitchhiking from the crew until we hit the coast, but _no_, they had to attack the boat Oceanus and Alana were on. Oh, and Lief and his group, too.

Idiots.

Oh, and we lost Dain. Well, since he's "a valued member of the Resistance," at least the pirates won't hurt him before they try ransoming him to somebody. Given their track record so far, they'll probably hike right up to the Resistance hideout and try selling him back to Doom. And be riddled with arrow wounds, too.

Alana, Oceanus and I are heading off separately from the three of them, since we got thrown off the _River Queen _for wrecking it. Well, Alana did. Oceanus wanted to follow her and I didn't know I was supposed to pay anyone. We could (read: _will_) be tracked by the Shadow Lord, and I figure a smaller party is easier to sneak around with. After all, it's not just 'the three' anymore. It's 'the three and a mage' now.

So, yeah. Hopefully they won't get killed before we see them next.

- Keras

* * *

Dear Journal,

Damn. How did those idiots manage to get caught by the_ same pirates _we mangled three days ago?

- Oceanus

* * *

Dear Diary,

We're heading into the Maze of the Beast now. Oceanus says titular 'beast' is named Glus and it's a giant slug monster that spits threads that harden into stone.

This is going to _suck_.

- Alana

* * *

Oceanus didn't mind the cold or the damp. He didn't really care that there was a gigantic worm-thing that was turning people into stone-coated treats. And he couldn't care less that some stupid pirate named Milne had beenstuck in the maze with them before having the flesh sucked from his bones.

He did, however, take issue with the fact that he was running the distraction role. Jasmine and Barda were with him only at their insistence and he had forced Alana and Keras to stay behind with Lief, who had apparently managed to find the column of pseudo-rock that the amethyst was hidden in.

As he and the other two ran along, Jasmine's thread winding through the water behind them, he wondered how long it would take for Lief to get the stupid rock out. Keras could turn people into statues if he put his mind to it, along with mud into poor-quality stone and stone into runny muck. Alana could simply break the entire column apart, but no one wanted to damage the gem. With any luck, they'd be done quickly and the two groups would be able to meet up and figure out how to escape.

Oceanus skidded around yet another corner, grabbing a stone-covered skeleton's hand to make a tighter turn. Then an idea came to him, just as he began to hear the Glus again, as they all stopped to catch their breath.

_I wonder…_ He extended a hand and said softly to Barda and Jasmine. "Get off the ground."

Luckily, even Jasmine didn't feel like questioning him just then. With a burst of magical energy, he froze the water pooling throughout the entire maze (or, at the very least, what he could see). He wrenched his boots out of the ice and sat down on it, relishing the chill after running about in the seemingly-endless maze. Barda tested it next, followed by Jasmine.

And around the corner, the Glus was shrieking in rage. It couldn't move.

* * *

"Why did the water suddenly freeze?" Lief asked. He had been gently prying stone from the pillar, as Keras melted the harder stuff near the center into warm mud.

"Oceanus. If ever something goes wrong and it has to do with storms, clouds in general, or things randomly getting cold, it's him." Keras replied. Alana sat nearby, looking around constantly as their sentry. She seemed even more on edge than she had during that night on the _River Queen_. That made sense, though, since then they were only dealing with pirates, not a huge, flesh-eating slug-monster.

Lief grimaced as he cleared away the remainder of the column's insides, remembering the way Milne had met his horrid end. He could hardly feel his own fingers, much less anything else, and it wouldn't do if he was even more distracted by such a vivid memory.

"Need help?" Keras asked.

"No…I think I can find it." Lief replied, groping blindly for something that didn't squish between his fingers. At least Keras had been kind enough to remove most of the sharp edges from the remaining rock, otherwise, Lief thought, he would be pulling back a hand stripped of all skin.

"Try the bottom of the hole," the teal-eyed boy suggested. "It should be down there if the stone stuck to it was melted."

Lief did so, reaching through the muck and the remaining stone fragments until he felt something smooth and cool, settled near the bottom of the cavity. _This is it_. Lief grasped it and, pulling out quite a bit of mud with it, held up the mud-streaked amethyst.

"Found it?" Alana called.

Keras grinned and said, "Yup, we've got it!" Lief felt like smiling, a little, but the thought of the others, still wandering in the maze, sapped whatever joy he would normally take from the event.

"Good." Alana said. She hopped off her sentry post - a mound that might once have been a skeleton, though now covered in bone-white stone like all the others. "Now, we need a way out of here."

Keras pointed up. "Blow a hole in the ceiling?"

"We don't have rope." Alana pointed out.

"We have Oceanus, even if he's not here right now." Keras replied. "Though there is the chance that something, like a house, is directly above us…"

Lief, while they were debating, bent to wash the amethyst (and his mud-soaked arm) in the water pooling at their feet. His hands shook. _Why…?_

He stood, shaking his head. Then, quite suddenly, he felt a breeze from somewhere nearby. He stepped up on the ice bordering their _one_ unfrozen pool and unsteadily made his way over to the far wall. Del never had winters severe enough to freeze the well, much less such a wide area.

"Hey, where are you going?" Keras asked, hopping over to Lief and promptly stumbling on the ice and falling flat on his back. "Ow."

"There seems to be something…" Lief put his hands against a gap in the near-perfect wall. A rush of salty air flowed from the hole. "A way out!"

"Really?" Alana made her way carefully over to him, sliding to a stop against the wall. "Wow. So, you need me to open this for you?"

"Yes." Lief said.

Alana nodded, then began to walk about the gap, skidding occasionally on the ice. "Okay, I'll open a crack _here_," she said, tapping the wall about a foot above the gap. With that, she drew her fist back and pounded on it the way Lief would pound on a locked door.

The wall gave a massive crunching noise and a colossal crack ran from the gap to the ceiling and chunks of rock began to fall. Alana grabbed Lief by the shoulders, fell to the ice, then kicked off the wall. They came to a stop next to Keras, who was observing the entire event like he had seen it all before.

"You overdid it, Alana." Keras said, stating the obvious in a way so flat that Oceanus would have been proud.

"_I know that_." Alana snapped at him, standing.

"What the hell did you three _do_?!" It was Oceanus, running with unfrozen water slapping at his feet - he was clearly thawing the water as he ran so he didn't slip. As he reached them, Keras was abruptly lying in a rather deep puddle that was getting progressively deeper - seawater was flowing from the gap.

"It is coming!" Jasmine gasped, arriving a second later. "The Glus is coming to seal this hole."

Barda grunted at them, clearly wanting to know what the three of them had planned on accomplishing by putting a hole in the maze and thus attracting the beast. At the moment, he was too busy catching his breath to put any of it to words, though all of them got the message.

They were going to get an earful once this was over.

Lief got up and moved over to the gap, sticking his head in. He spotted a circle of light on the dark water - an opening to the surface. He slid the amethyst into its place on the Belt before bracing himself on the edge of the huge gap Alana had made. If this water-filled chamber led to what he thought it did, they didn't have much time.

"Make haste!" Lief snapped at them, scrambling into the cavern. "This is a blowhole, as we saw near the coast. We cannot afford to delay!"

"I can't swim." Keras replied flatly. He was standing near the gap, his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest.

"Too bad!" Oceanus shoved him into the water, following an instant later to keep his friend from drowning in a panic. Lief got the impression the ensuing conversation would not be pleasant.

Alana turned to Jasmine. "Well, shall we?"

Jasmine nodded and both girls dove into the rising water. Lief worried for a moment - he knew Jasmine couldn't swim at all - but he was relieved to see Alana swimming as well as Oceanus, who was living up to his name and keeping his friend afloat. Barda hurried into the chamber last, and past him Lief saw the Glus, half-frozen and red maw gaping.

Lief forced his thoughts away from it, focusing on the gap in the ceiling. Alana squirmed out of the hole first when a lucky tidal surge put her within reach of it, leaving Jasmine to Lief, who held onto her hand in a death grip. She put her hand down through it and managed to catch Keras's arm, tugging him out as well.

The two of them then pulled Barda free, followed by Jasmine a moment later. Oceanus used caught the lip a moment later, his inhumanly sharp nails driving into the soft stone and allowing him to pull himself free.

Lief felt his heart give steadily stronger thuds as the water level continued to surge, stronger than ever before. He was nearly torn away from his handhold as the tide pulled back harder, like water spiraling down the drain.

He couldn't reach the hole from his handhold, and if he let go of it, he would be swept away into the current and drown.

A hand descended from the gap, followed by a torso - they were using Jasmine like a human rope! Lief could see Oceanus and Alana's hands fisted in Jasmine's shirt and was certain that Barda and Keras were keeping them from falling in. She reached for him and he stretched out a hand to meet hers.

Then the tide tore him from his handhold, sending him spinning uncontrollably into the new wall - the one the Glus had just replaced with new stone. As the water began its retreat, however, a pair of hands clenched around his right arm.

Lief looked up and saw that Jasmine had, indeed, managed to catch him.

* * *

Dear Journal,

It's official. Humans can be the most suicidal stupid creatures in existence, but if it weren't for Jasmine's self-risking idea, Lief wouldn't be sleeping by the campfire. Gods, I never want to go through that again.

Okay, now I _need_ to see where this goes. Congratulations, you three idiots. Now I need to make sure you succeed.

- Oceanus

* * *

A/N: Urgh…I'll edit this later. So…tired…longest…chapter…ever… X.x

Edit: Over Eight Thousand!!

(cough) But seriously, thanks, everyone.

Remember the little purple button in the corner now, okay?


	8. Inconsistencies

**Chapter Eight: Inconsistencies**

**A/N:** Arrgh...this chapter was so hard to write near the end...

* * *

Dear Journal,

We travel mostly at night now. With six people, we have enough for a full day's watch at any given time. No one's too tired to move when we have to start out. We still have enough food, but it's a little taxing when you realize there are now six people instead of the planned-upon three. We would normally fish in the river for some sort of supplemental food supply, but it's the River Tor. Anything coming out of that river is either dead, dying, or eating the dead and dying. Thanks, but no thanks.

The real problem is sheer anxiety. None of us may be too exhausted to move, but we won't be able to fight well when our senses are screaming that there's a crazy bandit in _that tree_ or a pirate crew coming downriver _right now_ when we're trying to sleep. And then, of course, there are the Ols. I can't look anywhere without spotting more of those thrice-damned flickering freaks.

Keras and I have been taking more watches. Jasmine helps sometimes. I don't know how long we can keep jumping at shadows before we collapse. I can just imagine the Shadow Lord and his cronies taking bets on how long it'll be before we all die.

And on a completely unrelated note, now I hate walking.

- Oceanus

* * *

Log Book,

Ols. More Ols. This place is swimming up to its metaphorical eyeballs in Ols!

I hope whoever helped the Shadow Lord create the damn things is choking on his innards!

- Keras

* * *

Dear Diary,

Well, Keras and Oceanus have mentioned that they wrote a bit about the last few days. I looked; as it so happens, they skipped over some of the most important events.

I wonder how I can put this…

- Alana

* * *

All six members of their newly-joined group were hiding in a small grove of trees. The rain that had bothered them before hadn't stopped since the first drop. So far, everyone was soaked to the skin and miserable. Luckily, though, the Queen Bee honey was working wonders on Lief, Barda, and Jasmine's remaining scrapes and bruises from the maze and their treatment by the pirates. So at least no one was in pain on top of everything else.

Ever restless, Keras had long since climbed into the tree above where Lief and Barda were huddled together. At the moment, he swung his legs back and forth out of boredom. Jasmine was sitting even higher in the same tree, Kree and Filli perched on opposite shoulders. Oceanus, meanwhile, paced restlessly around the grove, head down as he thought, apparently using the tops of his boots as a canvas for his imagination. Alana watched him, concerned.

Keras stood abruptly on the thick lower limb and promptly hit his head on the one above him. "Ouch." Rubbing his head, he glanced at Jasmine, who thankfully hadn't noticed his blunder. Or she was pretending not to.

Shaking his head, Keras untied his headband and let his short hair fall flat against his forehead as he began wringing it out. Even sitting under and oak tree's leaves didn't help that much. He was in hardly better shape than Oceanus, who had been walking with the heavens split above him for nearly an hour straight. This wasn't rain -- it was a torrential downpour. Keras wouldn't have been surprised if the River Tor had already burst its banks after this sort of weather.

"…we must go back!" Keras heard someone say, as though the speaker was far away. Frowning, he tied his headband around his forearm rather than wind it around his head again, grabbed a branch above him, and leaned in the direction the voice was coming from. "The more I think of it, the more I am sure. We should not have agreed to leave Finn alone with the booty. How do we know he will still be there when we return?"

"You don't." Keras muttered. He remembered Finn. A former Resistance fighter, then a pirate to sate his bottomless greed. He remembered how the man had choked up blood when Keras's sword went through his gut, too.

Finn had been the pirate Keras killed immediately before following Oceanus and Alana into the maze. They had needed to hurry -- Lief, Barda, and Jasmine had already been in the maze for over half an hour -- but Keras had decided to act with a bit of forethought. No one had thought to ask him afterwards about the lack of guards in the pirates' cave, even when blood was flecked all over the three's stolen belongings. Or perhaps they already knew and didn't want to bring it up again.

"Finn will be waiting for us, all right, Gren." Keras recognized the speaker as the man who he had (briefly) shared a room with in the pirates' ship. His name was Rabin, if he remembered correctly. "Whatever he says, he will want his share of the gold we get for that puny Resistance wretch on the ship."

"No, they won't." Keras whispered. The decision was clear-cut. He would have to either rescue Dain (and thus end up traveling with someone who deeply unnerved him) or let the pirates get away with auctioning off someone who knew some, if not all, of the Resistance's secrets. _Secrecy or sanity? Decisions, decisions…_

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Jasmine demanded from her perch. Maybe she didn't like the sound of his voice - he knew he didn't. It was even higher than Oceanus's unusually-low drawl. Then, a moment later, she had leapt from her branch to one on a different tree. "You can hear them, too?"

Keras nodded and said, "They're the same crew we fought before."

"They may still have Dain," she reasoned.

"They do." Keras replied. He dropped down from his branch and landed in a crouch with a squelching noise as the mud sucked on his short boots. He stood quickly, catching the attention of Oceanus at the very least, who stopped in mid-step.

"What is it?" asked Lief, who was scrambling to his feet behind Keras. He paused for a moment and began to wring water out of his bangs so he would be able to see.

"We have found the pirates who have Dain." Jasmine answered, jumping from the trees and landing next to the black-haired boy. Her own hair was flat against her face and back, giving Keras the impression of a drowned kitten.

Oceanus strode over, tying his white hair back so he wasn't blinded by it. After he finished, he said, "So, how will we rescue him? Killing the pirates again?"

"It would be more practical to merely slip past them." Barda said. "Fighting them would be a waste of valuable time."

"Barda's right." Alana said. "Who knows what shape Dain will be in?"

"Fine, fine." Keras said, holding up his hands in surrender. "We'll do it your way." _Like I'm going to argue with a girl who can lift me over her head._

While they had been talking, Lief had apparently moved to the edge of the clearing to try and spot the pirates. Crouched low in the bushes, he squinted through the rain and the ever-permanent fog. Then, "I can see their ship."

Keras walked over to him and leaned against the nearest tree. Even if the some members of the pirate crew were still onboard, they would have a harder time seeing their opposition than Lief had; after all, the pirate ship had torches. Their little grove did not.

Still…Keras peered through the mess of airborne water. It was the same ship Keras remembered. However, it seemed as though there were still a few sentries, who stalked about the deck with torches in one hand and weapons in the other. That hardly mattered. Well, if he remembered correctly, there had been a small rowboat for landing on the river's edge. It wasn't tied to the ship's railing as it was normally.

"Where's the small boat?" Keras wondered aloud. The angle was far from favorable -- he could only see the hulking ship from here. If there was some sort of dock nearby, though…

"I can see a rowboat tied to a tree." Oceanus's voice called from some distance ahead. He must have moved while Keras wasn't paying attention.

The entire group scrambled over to him. The white-haired mage indicated a tree that had obviously once stood on dry land, with a very small wooden rowboat anchored to it by strong, double-braided rope. At most, four people would be able to fit in it. Some of them would have to stay.

"I'll stay." Alana said after a long, silent debate between the group members -- Jasmine wanted to go, Barda would be needed to row and was volunteering anyway, Lief wouldn't let them leave him behind if they tried, Oceanus didn't think it was safe but wasn't going to let anyone go without his magical protections, and Keras looked torn between going for safety's sake and his intense fear of drowning. "It'll be easier for me to keep the pirates from noticing their boat is gone."

"How will that work?" Oceanus asked.

Alana winked at him. "I'll need Keras and your cloak. It'll be easy."

Keras groaned. Whatever else they were, Alana's plans were never as easy as they sounded.

* * *

Oceanus clambered over the ship's railing, cursing the rain for the fourth time that day. He wasn't even allowed to cast his louder spells for fear of alerting the pirates. He still couldn't understand why the others cared at all. The only magic he had used today was this simple levitation trick to reach the deck. Hadn't he already proven he could kill anyone who crossed his path if he was provoked in any way? Deltorans were so illogical, it hurt.

_It doesn't matter._ Oceanus thought. He merely reached back over the railing to catch the weighted line that was thrown to him. Barda had good aim and undeniable strength to throw this particular item around -- the group had reached a decision after only a short argument to use the rowboat's heavy lead anchor as a weight for the rope. Oceanus was nearly pulled off the deck while trying to keep it from falling back overboard. _And this thing is heavier than I thought._

After securing the line to the mast, Oceanus ran back to the edge of the ship and shouted down, "Send Jasmine up first!"

Once again demonstrating her climbing ability, Jasmine squirmed up the rope after tying her end of the rope to one of the oar rings. She twisted almost effortlessly as she put each hand higher and higher, never wasting a movement even as she finally got a hand around the railing. She didn't need Oceanus's help to get aboard, either.

Lief was close behind, moving almost agonizingly slowly. Not that Oceanus blamed him -- even during his long-past days as a thief, Oceanus had never been able to climb anything as quickly as Jasmine had. And that, he remembered, was why he had first started studying magic in the first place -- so he could bypass that little weakness.

Oceanus hauled Lief over the side of the ship and onto the deck, where he sat trying to regain feeling in his fingers. Then the mage looked down to where Barda was eying the rope dubiously. "Will that boat stay put if you're not in it?"

"Most likely." Barda replied. "It will not move at all if it has not already."

Oceanus conceded that point. Barda wasn't directing the boat with the oars at all. Unless the River Tor decided to suddenly reverse course, the boat would probably be pinned in place by the current indefinitely. That said, there was no guarantee that the pirates onshore had used only this tiny craft to get to shore. They probably had several other boats nearby.

They needed to hurry, whether Alana's plan was going into play or not.

"Come on." Oceanus muttered as Barda began his ascent. If anything, he was slightly faster than Lief had been. Oceanus still gave him the customary heave onto the deck, despite that.

"There seem to be voices coming from there." Lief said, pointing out the door to what could only be the captain's quarters. It had been a long time since Oceanus had last been around sailors and their vessels, but he could still remember little things.

Past the door that led to the captain's quarters, there was another that presumably led to the crew's quarters below the deck. If he was thinking of the right ship design, the crew's quarters would have access to the hold, and the hold led to the brig. The brig seemed the most logical place to keep a prisoner, but he wasn't sure the pirates operated on anything resembling logic.

_We would be able to hear guards complaining, slaves groaning -- anything from the hold. And yet, I can't hear anything that would mean there are humans below us. _As Lief, Barda, and Jasmine snuck over to the window of the captain's room, Oceanus peered down a grille in the middle of the deck. Water could be heard swishing noisily in the belly of the ship, but no one seemed to be bailing the offending liquid out. True, it wasn't as if the vessel would sink without an actual leak, but water, particularly foul water, had a way of spoiling all sorts of goods. _I wonder…_

"Oceanus!" Barda said in an unusually-loud whisper.

The mage turned to face him, spotting the group gathered around the tiny window. He crept over the waterlogged planks to find a spot next to them. "What is it?"

Barda wordlessly pointed through the glass.

Oceanus accidentally jabbed Lief in the side with his knee while trying to get a better view and was rewarded with a cuff across his head. Nonetheless, shoving Lief out of his way (and this time getting kicked for it), Oceanus was able to see inside the little cabin.

Four pirates -- one woman and four men -- sat around a wooden table. The men

were large enough to rival Barda's height, utterly dwarfing Jasmine and Oceanus. The woman even had a size advantage over Lief. Oceanus saw gold and silver coins piled in front of each pirate, all of whom were holding cards much like those of the dead card-playing men on the _River Queen_. Perhaps they had taken the paper trifles as booty when Oceanus hadn't been looking.

Thanks to the light of their ceiling lantern, Oceanus could see something dark lying in the far corner of their room. Concentrating, he recognized the bound and gagged mass as the other black-haired boy he had seen before. The pirates had carelessly tossed a moth-eaten blanket over him -- presumably to keep him blind on top of everything else -- but Dain had obviously squirmed and thrashed until they were forced to knock him out to quiet him. At least, Oceanus had no other reasonable explanation for the nasty-looking lump swelling on the side of the boy's head.

Dropping below the window frame again, Oceanus glanced at the others. "Now what?"

"That is obvious." Jasmine snapped. "We rescue Dain, no matter what."

"Do _you_ feel like fighting a bunch of muscle-bound pirates who will probably kill us on sight?" Oceanus demanded.

"No." she retorted. "You will use your spells on them, and we will deal with them when we have rescued Dain."

_Got me there._ Oceanus mentally grumbled. "That said," he added aloud, "how are we supposed to do that? In case you forgot, we're practically knee-deep in water. I use ice magic, which freezes water, and lightning, which hurts anyone standing _in_ water."

An explosion from shore ended the debate. Oceanus heard the pirates in the room jump to their feet and scramble about. A moment later, just as the four stowaways managed to stuff themselves into an unobtrusive corner, the pirates stormed out of their dry hideaway, cursing and shouting about the huge dust cloud that was rising above the tops of the trees.

Jasmine was the first to slip past the closest pirate's view and enter the room where Dain was still bound. _She never misses an opportunity_, Oceanus thought.

Lief was quick to follow, though he stopped long enough to hit the closest pirate with his sword's pommel. The unconscious man fell senseless to the deck, though luckily the rain was still loud enough that no one heard.

_This entire scenario has so many lucky breaks._ Oceanus mused in disbelief. _Of course, when we _really_ don't need it, we'll have horrible luck just to make up for this._

_And what the hell did Keras _do_?!_

* * *

Dear Journal,

Long story short, we defeated all four of the pirates on the ship just as they were about to head for shore in our stolen rowboat. It was a lucky thing, too, since I don't think Jasmine or Lief can swim particularly well. After this mess, we're heading for Tora since Lief apparently wants to give Dain a turn to decide our destination. Keras is not happy about that.

Speaking of Keras, it turned out that Alana borrowed my cloak because the inside of it is white. Then she covered Keras with it and relied on the fact that Keras is an illusionist. I'm told he made a very convincing Ol, right up until one of the crew revealed herself to be one, too. That was where the smokepowder bombs came in. The pirates mercifully never knew what hit them.

I'll have to remind him someday that Alana's not the only one capable of overkill.

I've been looking up some of my older notes about Tora, but I haven't come up with anything negative about the place. On the contrary, it seems like it was heaven on earth.

It's fitting -- from what I've read, the extremely-delicate Torans couldn't have survived anywhere else.

I wonder why Dain is so interested in Tora? It's a pity I'm not old enough to read minds like Mother. Maybe then I'd be able to pry all the little secrets out of his head and figure out why Keras considers him the bane of the universe.

- Oceanus

* * *

Dear Diary,

Tora is…interesting. We followed the River Tor for a while until we ended up on the edge of a massive lake. From what I could tell (which was mostly by Barda's reaction) the lake had only come into existence because of the rain we had been dealing with for the last week or so. I suppose the water levels rose enough for the river to overflow and fill it again. It certainly explains why Tora was almost a mile from the water.

Dain collapsed inside Tora. I looked him over -- there is _absolutely_ nothing wrong with him physically. No injuries, no poison, not even a stomachache when I asked. Whatever is wrong with him, it indicates something about him is just _wrong_. I can't explain it well, but it's as if he was using dark magic inside the Church of St. Elimine. The two aspects, holy magic and dark magic, fight and the weaker one is crushed.

For Dain, it's as if Tora is sucking the life out of him. But since Tora is renowned for purging evil…it isn't a good sign for Dain. As a matter of fact, I haven't felt any negative emotions since coming here -- I should feel nervous about the adventure we're about to start on again, but I just feel…calm. Detached, even. It's a little unnerving, since I know what I _should_ feel, and yet I simply _don't_.

Hopefully, we'll be leaving soon. I would rather deal with Ols and pirates again than stay in this strange city a moment longer.

- Alana

* * *

Log Book,

Well, we met up with Doom today. I suppose he had figured Lief and the others were heading to Tora if Dain was with them. He seemed surprised to see me and Alana, though. Our group has six members now, which is probably rather more than he expected. I bet he thought at least one of us had gotten killed by now. Too bad.

He also brought Neridah with him. If I was in a bad mood before over the Dain situation, spending all afternoon running from her put me in a worse one. Now, though we've managed to shove Dain off on Doom, we have the spoiled little girl instead. Joy.

Oceanus is particularly annoyed at her, though he did tell me he's never seen her before. I suppose it has something to do with her personality. She reminds him of Sal, I think.

_(She was his father's former lover before being rejected in favor of Immersa, Oceanus's mother. She followed our little mage around for years before we managed to get away. Talk about your rejection issues.)_

Oh, and Doom gave Jasmine a hat. It makes her look like a boy and I told her as much. I was wondering why I woke up on the ground for a while after that.

Of course, that makes Alana all the more conspicuous. One girl, traveling with five men (or rather, one man and four boys) is very unusual. So, we decided to disguise her, too. How, you ask?

Turns out Oceanus had another string we could use. I think he stole it from Jasmine's yellow ball of yarn, but I digress. Anyway, I got Alana's hair all tied back like Oceanus's and he let her borrow his cloak again. When we were finished, Alana was almost as boyish as Jasmine. Not that she hadn't been like that to start with, though. She looked an absolute maximum of fifteen years old anyway.

Well, off we go to the Valley of the Lost. And if we can get Neridah dropped into a sinkhole or something, all the better.

- Keras

* * *

"We have only two options. We must either hit her on the head and run, or we could simply wait until she is asleep and slip away." Jasmine said, her voice low so Neridah (who was being distracted by Keras) couldn't hear them.

The woman had been following them for weeks now as they headed for the Valley of the Lost. Though she had first told them that she merely wanted to return to her hometown, wherever that was, but she declined to use any of the roads they passed that would lead her back. Every time, she ran back to them when they tried to leave her, crying, and Oceanus was beginning to show lightning running in his hair and clothes as a clear sign of his irritation.

Barda had accepted her back at first. Lief and Jasmine, however, remained suspicious, though for different reasons. Lief knew her tricks from the Rithmere Games, and Jasmine was just offended by the woman's blatant use of her charms. Now, though, even Barda's near-endless patience was wearing thin.

As for the others, well, Neridah could have done better. Oceanus's temper got substantially worse the more she tried to win his sympathy. Even if he was always a walking hazard, Alana had never seen him grind his teeth so much. Keras, too, descended steadily into near-constant irritability, surprising Alana even more. Keras was usually happy and mischievous all the time; now, she saw him grumble more than joke.

Alana knew what had to be done. She didn't like Neridah either, but it was more out of the problems she caused for everyone else than what the woman had done to her. Alana cleared her throat at the group. "I think I have a suggestion."

Oceanus nodded to her before moving out of the bushes; apparently, Keras had run out of patience and was about two seconds from throttling Neridah. It was Oceanus's turn. None of them could deal with her for long, particularly Jasmine.

Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that, whenever she wasn't following Keras around like a lost duckling, Neridah clung to Lief's arm. Though the boy had maintained an impressively stoic façade in the face of all this, there were such things as reasonable limits.

"You five can head to the valley after she sleeps," Alana said. "I'll stay behind and make sure she doesn't follow."

"That will be difficult." Lief commented. "How will you keep her from following?"

Alana grinned at him. "Give me time. I'll make sure she gets home."

"That is not very comforting." Lief muttered.

"I know."

* * *

Dear Journal,

I don't think it was a good idea for Alana to split off from us. I know that she can take care of herself in all but the absolute worse circumstances, but it doesn't stop me from worrying. Neridah gets a bit of that, too, since I never did figure out if Alana knows how to detect Ols, or even if she could if she tried.

Currently, our group of ragtag adventurers are sitting at the base of a rather steep, wet hill, since Lief slipped and knocked the rest of us to the valley floor. Well, it was faster than climbing the whole way down. So, yeah, now we're wondering which way we're supposed to go in order to find the gem. I think I hate this place already.

Too much mist, not enough sun, the entire place smells of decay, and I can't see two feet in front of me. Actually, that reminds me of a coastal city back home…

I wonder how this will go? Keras elected to stay with us, and I'm sure he'll be a big help, but I can't help but feel that this is going to be

* * *

Lief thought that, by this point, Oceanus was probably two seconds from screaming with frustration. Over the course of two minutes, their group had been surprised by gray shades of starved and distorted people, all five of them had been locked into a spell that kept them from moving under their own will, and worst of all to the white-haired mage, he'd dropped his journal in the forest somewhere. At the moment, they were currently being held hostage at the Guardian's dinner table.

Keras regarded the fine food (which unfortunately reminded Lief strongly of a mouthful of dust) as if it would spring up from the plate and latch onto his face. He leaned as far back as the spell would allow, teal eyes wide and his knuckles white on his chair's armrests.

Like Lief, though, Barda kept his eyes on the Guardian and watched the man's four pet beasts for any sign of aggression as they tussled under the table. Neither of them felt like having their toes nibbled on if they stopped paying attention. The beasts, luckily, seemed more interested in thrashing each other than eating their master's new guests. For now, at the very least.

Jasmine scowled, her lips pressed firmly together, as she regarded the Guardian. She had no intention of being controlled -- even the spell had hit a nerve, disturbing her and sparking her temper. Her body was _hers_, no one else's. For someone to so simply wrest that from her…she would make the man suffer after they had claimed the gem, she swore silently.

Oceanus, for one, didn't seem particularly interested in the food, the beasts, or the Guardian himself. Though none of them could so much as leave the table, for their legs were clamped in the spell's iron hold, Oceanus's green eyes flitted from the door to the windows incessantly. Though Lief knew he was no coward, he also made a note to remind the mage later about priorities.

Actually, Lief was never sure if Oceanus would stay with them from one moment to another, but he had a good track record. Though, his abrasive and condescending personality made the black-haired boy think that the only reason Oceanus stayed was to mock them.

Oceanus growled as the Guardian began to speak. It made him sound less human than ever. "What is the matter, young man? Is the food not to your taste?"

Oceanus, thankfully, decided not to reply, but Lief watched with some surprise as his pupils changed shape -- into catlike slits. He knew that Oceanus, while not human, was at least someone with enough self-control not to completely lose his temper. That assessment seemed to be wrong.

He had to admit that Oceanus was not so much frightening as strange at the moment, though. He reminded Lief strongly of an offended cat.

What was the Guardian planning by subjecting them to his idea of hospitality?

* * *

Oceanus, though still quite annoyed and feeling as though he had been wronged to an intolerable degree, was far less angry than he appeared. Like Keras with his skillfully-acted façade of panic, he was, at the moment, faking. He listened to the Guardian's speech intently instead, searching for any weakness he revealed.

Oceanus saw Keras's lips move, seemingly in a panicked mantra. He knew, though, what the older boy was really doing. 'Listen; don't overthink this!' Keras mouthed.

The white-haired mage broke form for a moment. 'Huh?'

Keras simply repeated his message. He also added, 'Don't think too hard about this, either.'

If Oceanus had had control of his arms just then, he would have smacked himself in the forehead. Okay, so maybe he'd just have to think over what the Guardian and leave the rest to Keras.

_I have kept them hidden until now, not wishing to alarm you. But you will learn to love them, as I have done. Perhaps you already do, though you do not know it. They are fine, strong monsters, are they not? They protect me, and keep me company. Their names are Pride, Envy, Hate, and Greed._

Yes, that had been when he had first introduced his four grotesque pets. The Guardian's voice drifted surely over the silence of the table Oceanus sat at as he immersed himself in the memory.

_Their names are a little joke of mine. For though each had one of the faults I have mentioned, none had the fault after which it was named. Greed is not greedy, Pride is not proud, Envy is not envious. Hate is not envious, either, not at all. But more important, it has never hated in its life. You see? Is it not amusing?_

It hadn't been. Even Keras had been too distracted by the monsters' repulsiveness to care very much about wordplay. Oceanus didn't doubt he had committed the incident to memory, though, if only to remind himself to stay out of monster arenas.

Still, Oceanus had to admit that the naming scheme was…unique. Not amusing, but definitely unique.

_Like children, my pets sometimes do not agree, and need a firm hand. The envious one and the proud one are both very afraid of Greed. But they will fight if they have to. For, after all, they are linked together and cannot escape._

Oceanus had heard such a speech before, though he had to admit that the Guardian seemed less overtly malicious. Not by much, but there was a difference. The person before had had a…fixation…with beautiful things and had thoroughly unnerved the mage.

Oceanus gave a mental shrug. He'd figure this out later. He was fully alerted to reality as the Guardian poured golden wine into one of his crystal goblets.

The mage vaguely wondered if the Guardian grew yellow grapes, or maybe apples. Last he'd checked, wine was supposed to be red. The only way Oceanus knew it was wine was because of the smell.

Oceanus didn't think much about that anymore, because the next thing he knew, a shadow had settled over his mind and his head drooped involuntarily. _What…?_

The next thing anyone knew, Oceanus was fast asleep.

* * *

After the group had been released to scour the palace for clues to the Guardian's riddle, Keras had snagged Oceanus's collar and dragged the smaller boy to the first open room and dumped his unconscious body on the cushions that were apparently a standard feature for the rooms.

Though he treated the unresponsive mage with all the disinterest as normal, Keras was worried. The Guardian was a powerful sorcerer, but in a different way than Alana, Oceanus, and Keras were. They lacked the ability to force another person to act against their will, which the Guardian definitely had, and the Guardian also had a number of powerful enchantments, it seemed.

_This could be difficult._ Keras thought as the others peeked around every corner. "Didn't the old man say something about the clue being obvious?"

Trust Barda to have an "aha!" moment before his sentence was even finished. And _Lief_ was supposed to be the smart one?

Keras blankly regarded the words that appeared in the mirror, already cross-referencing the many, many riddles he had heard over the years. He thought he knew the answer to two of the questions -- there were five letters, two of which were the same, and a few were dependent on puzzles hidden in the palace, most likely. The first was easy enough -- by logical elimination based upon the Guardian's earlier speech, the Guardian's name began with an 'E'. Keras told them this rather offhandedly, and Jasmine scowled at him.

After that, "the sum of happiness of those who try my name to guess"…zero, though the number was a relatively new concept in Elibe compared to, say, a billion. Go Barda, again.

And the other three were presumably the puzzle problems. Keras shook Oceanus gently to see if the spell had worn off yet. No such luck.

And then he happened to glance at the rug the cushions were lying on.

_The sum of errors in the twin…_

"Found them." Keras said, rolling Oceanus over without really caring if the mage was going to yell at him later or not. He needed to get a better look at this rug.

"The twins?" Jasmine asked, suddenly standing next to him and looking over his shoulder. "One, two, three…"

"Don't forget the bird's crest." Keras said, putting his finger on each difference as she counted them out. Hopefully she could count better than she could read -- Keras had noticed the girl struggling to read a very long notice on a board once on the way here. Not that what the sign had said mattered -- Keras only cared that he had discovered a potential weakness and was worried about it.

"Nine."

"So, that makes…what again? I can't really spell."

"Endon," said Lief in a tight voice, as if his throat was closing. Keras looked at him curiously. "The last King of Deltora."

There was a long moment of silence. Keras was confused, mostly because the others seemed stunned to silence. Except for Oceanus, who slept on, oblivious. Keras sort of felt like poking him, just because.

"Not seeing the connection," Keras said, pointing to himself. He was pretty sure he was the only one who didn't get it, but he didn't care either. Not born this century, thank you, and not from this continent either. "What's the problem?"

They all gave him a look that reminded Keras strongly of his old teachers. Before they'd all been killed for calling a madman an idiot, but hey, same concept.

"The King is the only one who could save Deltora…" Lief was staring at the paper in his hands in horror. "Only he could wear the Belt and drive the Shadow Lord back…"

"Still not following." Keras told him. "And what's the big deal about a belt? I thought you were looking for gemstones."

Someone chose that moment to kick him in the back of his left knee. As he went down, he heard Oceanus snap, "Pay attention, stupid."

Keras was on his feet again in a flash. "Pay attention to _what_? You never told me what the hell we were doing here, or why we needed a bunch of rocks."

Oceanus sat up and threw a cushion at him, which he caught without thinking. Keras could practically felt he irritation radiating from the mage like heat. So cranky so soon after your nap? he thought mockingly. "I'll give you the explanation later. Just shut up and help them out for now."

Keras gave him a look that could have scorched stone. "I hope so."

Oceanus got up and said rather nastily to the group, "So we've completely failed? It doesn't work like that. Were you even looking for Endon? Who gives a damn about someone who can't possibly even wear the Belt now?"

"That much we know." Jasmine snapped back. "With Endon like this, who knows what has become of the heir and Queen Sharn? If the Enemy has managed to corrupt Endon so thoroughly, how could his wife survive, and keep the child?"

"Why is everyone using rhetorical questions?" Keras interrupted before the two of them could start another fight. Well, he stepped in physically, too, putting a hand on Oceanus's forehead to keep him from going forward at all and poking Jasmine in the collarbone. But that was hardly relevant. "And anyway, the candle's almost out."

Barda looked over at it so fast that Keras wondered if he had gotten whiplash. Indeed, the final inch or so of the candle was swimming in a pool of melted wax. It bobbed up and down rather fitfully and Keras wondered if it was going to flip over and put itself out, somehow. He generally didn't use candles much, what with being able to see in the dark and all.

"Let's go see a man about a diamond, then." Keras said mildly as the others rushed off to break the barrier on the door. He was alone in the room for about a second before he followed them all out.

When he got there a little later, Lief was holding up the diamond and frowning a little. By coincidence, Guardian got there at about the same time.

Oceanus looked at Keras and made a series of signs with his left hand. By some strange inverse accident of biology or something, Keras was left-handed like the rest of the mages and mage-warriors he knew, but Oceanus wasn't. The only reason Oceanus wouldn't use his right was if he was signing a message to Keras.

This one went a little like, "I'm going to put a spell resistance enchantment on you, so don't even twitch."

Sure enough, Keras felt a tingling sensation spread over him a moment later. As the Guardian began to talk and his beasts stood at attention, Keras was already feeling in his pocket for one of the three-inch knives he usually used to open clams or clean under his fingernails. The monsters' eyes looked like good targets.

"So, you discovered my name. Did it surprise you?"

"A little." Barda said calmly. The entire effect was a little ruined by Oceanus saying, "A lot," at the same time.

Keras, meanwhile, had discovered another, longer knife strapped to his scimitar scabbard and was planning on using it within the next minute or so.

"Only one other has ever done so," he said. "And he – he found the truth so hard to bear that he refused to enter this room and claim his prize. He left the valley, cursing me. Saying he, and his cause, whatever that may be, wanted nothing that had been tainted by my possession."

"Smart man." Oceanus said coolly. "I don't suppose you know who this person was, do you?"

"Doom…" Lief murmured, making the white-haired mage blink and look over at him. Jasmine and Barda wore identical surprised looks and Keras stopped trying to find yet more weapons for about half a second. He ran his thumb over the diamond again.

The Guardian smiled at the memory. "I never knew his name, though he, at last, knew mine. It is a shame he did not stay. There was a bitterness and hatred in him that warmed my heart, and made my creatures glad." His fingers patted his beard and he said in an oily tone that made Keras want to punch him more than usual, "Will you follow his example, and run?"

"No, we will not." Barda said determinedly. "We will take our prize."

Oceanus and Keras exchanged looks. Oceanus mouthed "In a moment." Keras waited.

No one else moved for about five seconds as Lief got redder and redder. Keras felt like he was waiting for a blackpowder bomb to go off when no one could tell how long the fuse was.

"You have cheated us!" Lief shouted at the Guardian. "This gem may be a diamond. But it is not the diamond from the Belt of Deltora!" He held up the gemstone, allowing everyone a good look at the oval stone. Keras found that he agreed with the boy – there was very little magic in that diamond – if it was a powerful one like the components of the Belt (Keras wasn't stupid – Oceanus just wasn't clarifying enough) were implied to be, since they apparently could hold off the Shadow Lord, it would have felt a little more…special.

"I never promised you more than what was in the casket!" snarled the Guardian. "I said to you clearly, 'you may take your prize and go.' That is all."

"You told us your treasure was the diamond from the Belt of Deltora," Lief insisted. "And the real gem was here, when you first showed us this room. But now it is gone."

"I think I missed this part." Oceanus muttered, only loud enough for Keras to hear.

"I'll tell you later." Keras whispered back.

Lief was still talking. _Why was he still talking_? Why was he risking dismemberment and being eaten to make a point to the Guardian? Um, Lief. Really, the monsters _don't like you_. _Back away before they decide to attack_. But of course, humans rarely, if ever, listened to nonverbal cues. Especially if those cues are made from behind them.

As the monsters were about to leap at him and rip his face off, Lief was saying, "You moved it, Guardian, once we were safely out of the way, searching other parts of your palace." His voice rose to a shout again, "You replaced it with another gem. So that even if we won your game, your real treasure would not be lost!"

"How can you know this?" the Guardian demanded, eyes narrowing.

"It does not matter how I know!" Lief retorted. "The important thing is, you have cheated. You, who make so much of following the rules."

"And did _you_ follow the rules?" the Guardian spat. "Yes! I took my jewel from the casket and hid it outside in the mist. The gem I put in its place should more than satisfy your greed."

"You think we're in this for shiny objects? WE RISKED OUR FREEDOM TO WIN THAT STUPID ROCK AND NOW IT'S NOT HERE?!" Oceanus roared. It was rather amusing, at least at first, to hear such a sound come from someone so small. Then Keras realized how utterly pissed off he was. "All you are is a con man with magic!"

"Oceanus…" Lief began.

"Enough! Your mad babbling has no hold here. Be gone!" the Guardian shouted.

"Not until you hold up your end of the bargain, you withered old husk!" Oceanus snarled back. Keras thought idly that Oceanus needed to work on his people skills. The only reason most people dealt with him normally was because it was better to have him on your side than the other one. Prickly little kid.

"Where is the diamond, Guardian?" Lief asked.

Was Keras mistaken or were they playing "good guard, bad guard?"

"…impossible. No, excellent!" Apparently, a lot of thoughts had come together with a 'click' in the Guardian's head. Damn. "You are the ones my Master seeks! Give me the Belt of Deltora!"

Lief's hand began to twitch toward his waist.

The Guardian's beasts frothed at the mouth, straining the ends of their leads in an attempt to grasp Lief in their jaws and rip him to pieces. Keras prepared to pounce on the nearest one, the largest, and slash it apart in kind.

About a second later, when he felt the Guardian's magic attempt to take hold while he forced Lief to take the Belt off, Keras opened his mouth wide and blew a stream of bright orange flame into the face of the closest monster, Greed.

Then it all dissolved into bedlam, of course. Keras charged it and cut its cord from its neck, all while the beast was still on fire. At the same moment, Oceanus's knives whirled into the air and hacked away at the other three. The mage himself hung back, directing the weapons from afar as he preferred. With Jasmine and Barda rooted to the floor by the Guardian's magic, he had to defend them, too, with a shield spell, while Keras made a fiery spectacle out of the Guardian's pet monsters.

Keras carefully avoided harming the Guardian himself, however. Something about the man changed as the monsters were silenced. Maybe his eyes didn't glow like they had a moment ago. Maybe his face seemed more withered. Either way, Keras activated his haste ability and sped up still further, slicing the monsters into remnants of their former selves with his machete.

He stopped moving absurdly fast about a minute later, by which point, if there was a status beyond 'dead,' the monsters were it.

"Um…oops."

"Overkill much?"

* * *

Dear Journal,

So, long story short, the Guardian wasn't evil under all that weirdness and I still owe Keras an explanation of some of the magic concerning this continent. I don't know why he asked – he never listens to me anyway.

Those creepy people from before turned out to be Torans.

Seriously, after all that's happened on this trip, I've given up on being surprised. I want to go home now, to where the world makes sense and the only point of magic is to kill other people and there are multiple kingdoms.

Ugh. I have such a headache right now.

Tomorrow or something we're going to try and find Alana somewhere. Maybe Neridah's actually not going to be with her this time!

Right, and now we apparently need to find the heir to the throne of Deltora. It supposedly involves the Belt somehow and now I'm tired…

This place is so _frustrating_.

- Oceanus

* * *

**A/N:** X( I am so _dead_...


End file.
